


Spirit of the Brown Bear (Torar Angiyok Aklark)

by bookscape



Category: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Genre: Alaska, Bears, Eskimos, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 23:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20236246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookscape/pseuds/bookscape
Summary: When Harriman goes to Alaska for an environmental conference, he is targeted for assassination. Instead, an amnesiac Nelson survives with the help of an Eskimo hunter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Admiral Nelson is targeted for assassination during an environmental conference in Alaska.  
This is a story that I had great pleasure writing and researching. Having lived in Alaska, but not near the northern slope, I still have a soft spot in my heart for anything Alaska. I hope you enjoy it. This follows Foam on the Large Wave but does stand alone.

**It was a small group made up of people from several different racial backgrounds and age levels.All looked deadly serious, some even dour.One was gesturing wildly to punctuate his angry remarks.“Why even do all of this?” he shouted, half standing.** ****

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**“Sit down, Michael,” a dark-eyed woman in a well worn, fur lined, animal skinned parka said calmly.It was cold in the room, a cold that even the coal stove in one corner couldn’t dispel.“Protests, even violent ones, haven’t helped,” she said mildly.“They have probably hindered our cause.”**

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**“What’s so important about this one additional scientist?” an older man growled, picking up a cigarette.The others glared at him and he put it down.**

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**The woman laughed and then unfastened her parka, pulling it off over her head.The others may be cold, but she had to go back outside soon.Her Eskimo heritage seemed to inure her to more cold than these others could stand.It was foolish to not remove outerwear indoors.“You haven’t heard of Harriman Nelson?” she asked.Her voice was like that of a parent who had just been asked an obviously inane question by her child.** ****

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**The man glared, stung by the unsaid rebuke.“Of course I have.Retired admiral, head of a research organization, marine scientist, designer of a huge research submarine.So?” he asked caustically.** ****

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**The woman laughed again.“If we can persuade him to actively join our cause, then we have practically won our battle.He even has the ear of the President.”** ****

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**“Oh, all right, but if this doesn’t work….”** ****

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**“It will,” she said, excitedly.“I will be waiting at the rendezvous.”** ****

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**Everyone nodded.When nothing else was said, the group broke up, the woman leaving first.** ****

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**The angry man sat quietly waiting for everyone to leave, finally lighting his cigarette.Soon only he and one other man were left.“So you understand what I want you to do?” he growled.**

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**The thin faced, blue-eyed man nodded and smiled.The smile looked more like a grimace however, as an old scar stretched from the corner of one side of this mouth to his ear.Money was exchanged and the small house on the outskirts of Fairbanks was empty.**

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**“I still think it’s ironic that even though you own one of the fastest private jets in the world, you end up flying on a commercial airliner,” Captain Lee Crane said sardonically, as he accompanied his boss to the gate of a large jumbo jet.**

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**“What?And deprive me of the simple pleasures?” Admiral Harriman Nelson quipped, watching a petite stewardess walk past them toward the jet ramp.“No offense, Lee, but neither you nor Chip can offer such amenities.”** ****

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**Crane, who had been following the admiral’s gaze, laughed softly.The brunette was pretty.“Hmm, you have a point.Sure I can’t come along?”** ****

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**“No, Captain, I want you taking our gray lady through her paces,” Nelson said firmly.“I expect her tip top when I get back.”** ****

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**Lee smiled.“Aye, aye, sir,” he said crisply.The admiral pulled out his ticket and got in line.He nodded to Lee as the man tore his ticket in half and then he was through the door.Lee walked to a window and gazed at the jet, then moved to another window as it taxied down the runway.He stood watching as the plane took off and finally turned to leave.A set of cold fingers walked up and down his back and then disappeared.He paused in puzzled contemplation and then shook his head.**

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**=============================** ****

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**Harriman thought about his exchange with Lee as he settled in his very comfortable leather seat.While he liked the ease and speed that getting around in the Flying Sub afforded, the luxury of sitting in first class and being wined and dined did have advantages.Especially when someone else was footing the bill.**

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**Next to him sat a gray-haired executive, business suit crisply dry cleaned.His eyes were closed, and his face turned to the window, cushioned on a pillow.Harriman didn’t bother him.Obviously, someone trying to catch up on what frequent flying robbed him of.As Nelson had a great deal of reading to do, that didn’t bother him in the least.** ****

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**The request for him to attend this North Slope ecological conference had come at the last minute.And it had come from the President himself.There were militant forces on both sides, he was told.Those who wanted the area left totally untouched, only used by the native tribes who lived there, and those whose interests lay in tapping the huge reserves of oil and minerals.He was to study both sides and use his ‘considerable’ expertise and influence to make viable solutions that both sides could live with.Somehow, Harriman wasn’t sure that was possible, but he had been told that his aura of respectability might help create a climate of compromise.Aura indeed, he snorted.**

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**“Admiral, would you like to order a drink?” a young voice asked softly.The voice belonged to the petite brunette he and Crane had observed at the boarding gate.**

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**Harriman thought a moment.He was meeting Klineman in Seattle in a few hours.As much as he’d like a stiff Scotch and water, he’d better not.“Coffee, please,” he decided.**

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**“I’ll bring it to you as soon as we’ve taken off, sir,” she replied.**

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**Nodding, he pulled out a large folder as the plane backed away from the gate.He opened it and pondered the problems of drilling and mining in a very delicate ecosystem.The plane rumbled across the tarmac, and he closed it again, placing it in the pocket in front of him.It wasn’t that he was overly nervous, but he kept mentally going over his own pre-flight procedures.He couldn’t concentrate on the documents before him.The jet took off smoothly and Harriman pulled out the folder again.Just below the Arctic Circle, a rich reserve of oil had been discovered.That in addition to other finds already being shipped through the existing pipelines.The problem, he read, wasn’t just the drilling, it was more the piping.The inhospitable environment made materials break down very quickly.If that could be solved, he pondered, perhaps that would help mollify all sides.** ****

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**“Your coffee, Admiral,” the stewardess said softly, interrupting his reverie.**

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**“Mmm?Oh, thank you,” he answered, flashing her a warm smile as he took his cup.**

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**“Dinner will be served shortly.The choices are lemon chicken or home style meatloaf.”** ****

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**“Chicken,” he answered, knowing he didn’t want anything that he knew wouldn’t measure up to the _Seaview _cook’s specialty.Cookie was a miracle worker with ground beef.She nodded and left, and Harriman went back to his reading.** ****

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**The materials used to keep the _Seaview_ safe at high pressures, he wondered.Of course, the hull was a combination of not only durable and strong metal but also a design that used inside air pressure and ballast as a barrier.He pondered the possibilities of using similar technologies for the frigid cold of the Arctic Circle.He was still pondering, jotting notes on the margins of the brief when the stewardess brought him his lunch.He thanked her as he put his materials away.Harriman continued to ponder the upcoming conference as he ate.When he had finished, he opened up the brief again and turned his mind to the itinerary.Fly with Klineman from Seattle to Anchorage and then by small aircraft to Fairbanks where he would get to relax for the next day and a half or have the option of sightseeing.He didn’t think he needed that much time to relax, but then again, he hadn’t had much time to consider all the issues that would be put on the table at this symposium.Perhaps he could hire a bush pilot to take him out to the area of the pipelines already in existence.**

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**Harriman had been to the Arctic Ocean but always by virtue of a submarine.He had never really seen the northern tundra.He hoped he could see more of the North Slope than just from an airplane.**

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**When they arrived at Seattle, Klineman was waiting for him and they discussed the conference and various theories a good deal of the flight.**

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**“Enough, Karl,” Harriman finally said.“I want to arrive in Fairbanks somewhat aware of my surroundings.Let’s try to get some sleep.I feel as though I’ve already been to a conference.”** ****

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**“You’ll feel like the referee at a wrestling match before this is over, Harriman,” Klineman retorted.“Everyone seems so determined to convince everyone else that he or she is right.”** ****

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**“All the more reason to relax a bit now,” he said, regretting not having use of the Flying Sub right now, and remembering his conversation with Lee before he left.But until he had time to complete the refitting of the little vehicle, it was too dangerous to take out.He sighed and leaned back against the small pillow.Now he was wondering if the extra day had been allotted for lobbyists to hit on him before the convention started.He grimaced.**

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**He awoke with a start as the pilot announced their approach into Anchorage.Obviously he had slept a bit, although he didn’t feel like he had.Harriman gazed out of the window to the water below to watch for sight of the approaching land.It came along with a glorious sunrise.A short time later they had landed in Anchorage.** ****

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**Nelson and Klineman had no time to assimilate their surroundings as they were almost instantly whisked to a small corporate-type jet nearby.Soon they were winging over the MacKenzie Range and heading north.There were only a few passengers but then the plane only had seats for a dozen.The two older men sat up front, each peering out the windows.**

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**Harriman watched the mountains loom higher and higher as they continued north.Snow seemed to lay in thick piles part of the way down the slopes as well as on the peaks.The jet seemed to fly over the higher peaks with only a bare minimum of clearance.On the northern slopes the snow lay thicker, covering all the way into the valleys and the flatlands beyond.When they landed in Fairbanks, the sun had not reached very high into the sky even though it was noon by his watch.In mid-winter, the sun would not even top the horizon, he knew.Harriman had been in the Arctic seas when that happened and it was an eerie feeling to be in the dark in the middle of the day.Like a day long eclipse, only darker.**

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**A young woman who was obviously an Eskimo met them.Her wardrobe, though, would have been just as apropos in a corporate office in New York City.“Admiral Nelson?Dr. Karl Klineman?” she asked them.** ****

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**“Yes,” Harriman answered for both of them.** ****

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**“I am Dr. Maria Machetanz.Once we get your bags, we’ll proceed to the hotel.The pre-conference dinner will be at 6: 00 this evening.You’ll have a few hours to relax.”**

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**“Thank you,” Harriman and Klineman said together.**

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**As they walked out of the terminal she gazed at them and smiled softly.“I hope you brought a warm winter coat, Admiral.Even though spring will soon begin in the lower forty-eight, it’s still cold here in Fairbanks.** ****

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**The admiral smiled softly.“I came from Santa Barbara, Doctor, but I did come somewhat prepared.I have a parka in my suitcase.”** ****

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**“Good.”** ****

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**The cold did quickly penetrate his uniform though, and he was very glad that her vehicle was close.And he was even more grateful to reach his hotel room.The relative silence was soothing after the long flights.He hung his extra uniform up, laid out his toiletries, pulled off his jacket and then stretched out on his bed for a short nap.**

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**A knock on his door startled him out of a half doze.With a sigh, he went to the door.It was Dr. Machetanz.**

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**“May I come in?” she asked.**

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**With a nod, he motioned her in.“Please sit down, Doctor,” he invited.“I would offer you a drink, but I suppose there will be plenty of that tonight.And besides, the drinks that are usually stocked in hotel refrigerators are poor substitutes to what’s offered at a decent bar.”** ****

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**She shook her head.“Admiral, this may seem bold, but I am very concerned about the future of the North Slope.”** ****

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**“From what I have read, I understand your concern.I suppose you realize that I am here as a neutral observer and fact gatherer.I cannot allow myself to be lobbied.”** ****

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**She nodded.“I understand and appreciate that, Admiral.But how can you make a judgment when you aren’t fully informed?How can you just listen to second hand, emotion-laden information, or written reports and make decisions that affect thousands of people and many different species of animals?”** ****

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**“Interesting question, Doctor Machetanz,” Harriman answered.“So what is your answer to that particular question?”** ****

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**“While the conference officially begins tomorrow night, the real debate and testimony is the day after tomorrow.Fly out to the area affected.At least see the area from the air, maybe land and check out the terrain, the pipelines—just get acquainted with what everyone will be talking about.”** ****

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**Nelson thought it was fascinating that he had considered doing that very same thing.He was interested, but wouldn’t exhibit his interest for a moment.“I know what side of the fence you reside on, Doctor, but I do see the merit of what you are proposing.I don’t stay in the lab when I study marine life,” he said with a slight smile.“When?”** ****

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**“This afternoon—now,” she said, her eyes showing hope.**

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**“And come back when?”** ****

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**“In twenty-four hours,” she replied.“And to make it even more unbiased, I won’t come with you.”** ****

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**“According to what I read in the itinerary, you are a presenter tomorrow night anyway,” he pointed out with a slight chuckle.** ****

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**She laughed with him, apparently relieved at his quick acceptance.“What I have been told about you is very true apparently.”** ****

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**“What’s that?”** ****

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**“You are a quick thinker and a fast problem solver,” she replied.**

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**He shrugged.“I simply like to be well informed.Any decent scientist should be.What do I need to bring?”** ****

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**“Dress warm and comfortable.And bring anything you might need with which to take notes or pictures.”** ****

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**Harriman found excitement growing inside.“Give me a few minutes,” he told her as he dug through his suitcase.“I’ll meet you in the lobby.When she had left the room, he got on the phone and called NIMR.“Angie,” he said without preamble.“Do a check on a Dr. Maria Machetanz.”He spelled her last name.“I’ll wait.”A few minutes later, he was getting the facts and figures of the doctor’s background, including her schooling, affiliations and friends.She seemed very much on the up and up, nothing subversive for all that she was totally against the proposed new drilling.Carrying warmer civilian clothes, the admiral headed into the bathroom and changed.**


	2. Chapter 2

Soon Nelson was accompanying Dr. Machetanz toward the little airport. She escorted him to a private hangar where several small prop planes--bush planes--were lined up. She walked up to one of them and a sandy-haired young man popped his head out of the back of the plane. 

“Admiral Nelson?” he asked. 

Harriman nodded.

“The admiral wishes to see some of the slope area where the proposed pipelines are to be built,” Dr. Machetanz said. 

“But you can get me back before the conference actually begins,” Nelson said.

“Of course, sir,” the young man said. “I’m Roger Simkiss, ace bush pilot, by the way. Glad to meet you, Admiral.”

Harriman smiled. “Are all of you pilots this modest?” he asked, shaking the pilot’s hand. 

Simkiss laughed heartily. “Nope, some are even more so. Get on board, Admiral.”

As the admiral climbed aboard the small airplane, Machetanz gave the pilot a meaningful glance. Then she leaned close and whispered, “You don’t need to do anything but suggest. Nelson is eager to see everything he can.”

Simkiss nodded and gave her a thumb’s up. Then he climbed aboard. “Good!” he said, seeing the admiral in a seat behind his pilot’s chair. He got in and with a flourish of his hand he started the engines with a roar. Soon they were bumping down the hard dirt airstrip and into the air. 

Harriman gazed out at the panorama on either side reveling at the vastness before him. But then, he had to remind himself, vastness didn’t equate to a state of barrenness. He knew the land passing before him was teaming with life. In fact he thought he saw on the horizon a herd of deer, probably caribou. Then Simkiss banked and headed toward the northwest. Harriman continued to watch the scenery pass by, much more sedately than on the jet that took them to Fairbanks. Huge stands of timber began to alternate with tracts of flatland dotted with small lakes. There were rises of land, indicative of hills and it was from one of those that the admiral saw a reflection, then a puff of smoke. 

Instantly he knew what it probably represented and was immediately out of his seat, crying out a warning at the same time. “Bank starboard!” He grabbed the wheel and jerked it back, causing the small plane to roll heavily to one side. 

With a splintering crash, the left wing suddenly exploded in shards of wood, metal and plastic. The plane shuddered in mortal agony and dove toward the ground. Simkiss and Nelson tried to wrestle the wounded craft back from its roll, but with only one wing remaining, they were only partially successful. The other wing was sheered off by the tops of the pines below that had seemingly begun reaching for them as soon as the missile had hit. Then the plane was being ripped apart by trees that were themselves direly wounded by the stranger in their midst. Harriman tried to shield his face. He heard Simkiss scream and then he felt himself thrown back and then forward again. Finally there was merciful blackness. 

Screaming woke him—screaming and moaning. And then there was the pain. He thought his head would burst. The moaning was from inside him. He woke more fully to a fading light. Sitting up slowly, he studied his surroundings. Dim shapes took form in the brighter light of a small fire. The injured man saw everything from his position on the ground. Shadowy figures moved just beyond the fringes of the light. There was debris scattered all around him. A battered box with a red cross caught his attention. He slowly crawled toward it, not trusting himself to stand up. The screaming had stopped, but still there was the sound of growling, then a deep roar that reached deep into his mind and shook the cold ground. With anxious need, the man tore open the box and dug inside. Bandages, ointments, bottled water, a flare gun. He pulled out the latter. 

Another roar, closer and suddenly a huge colossus reared up in front of him. A bear, dark and shaggy, the tips of its brown coat grizzled with silver that flamed in the dancing light of the waning fire. Despite its bulk, it appeared thin and very, very hungry. It roared again and dropped down on its front paws, making the ground shake. The man knew instantly that there was no escape and that death was staring at him with baleful, demonic-looking eyes. 

One paw swiped at him and he jerked back, but not before the front of his parka was shredded. A hot track of pain ran across his chest and he cried out. Another blow, fast on the heels of the first, knocked him to his back. The beast’s hot breath blew in his face like a furnace; the teeth lowered closer. 

The man jerked his arm up in quick motion and his finger pulled the trigger of the flare gun. The muzzle of the gun pointed directly into the bear’s open mouth and the blinding flash surprised both of them. The flare seared down the bear’s gullet and the animal jerked back in surprise and then in pain. The man also scuttled backward not knowing what would happen next. The safety device exploded and the huge behemoth bellowed once in agony before collapsing on its side to the hard ice and snow-covered tundra, throat exposed and blood spurting. 

There was a momentary silence as though the explosion had taken everything by surprise. A distant howl echoed, one voice calling out a query and several others answering. Growling became muted, as a shuffling noise seemed to move away. There must have been two of them, the man thought, grateful that the other creature had chosen to retreat rather than investigate. He moved closer to the vestiges of the fire. The fuel keeping it burning was almost gone. He groped around in the darkness for more wood, but his exposed and injured chest caused him to pause. 

It was cold, the chill reached in to grab him. The air was so icy he felt as though his lungs would freeze. Where was he? What was he doing here? What had happened?

Even as he considered all of this, he was digging in the emergency box. Another cartridge for the flare gun. The injured man knew he was someplace remote and desolate. As though punctuating the thought, another creature howled. A wolf? He would need the flare gun as a signal. But he also needed light. Shivering, the man knew that above all, he needed warmth. He dug into the battered box again. He hands felt the handle of a knife and he smiled in satisfaction. Although he realized that this was scant protection against something as large and powerful as the bear that had attacked him, he somehow felt much more secure. 

But warmth, he mused as he shivered again; that was something that was vital. Again he tried to look for anything that might burn and found nothing; even the box was metal. Finally determining that no large animals remained in the area, the man rose slowly to his feet. The stars shimmered through the puffs of his own breath that seemed knife sharp in his lungs. He felt the blood oozing slowly from the furrows that the bear’s claws had made, then congeal in the frigid air. Cursing softly, he gazed into the near blackness and wondered how in the world he was going to survive in this hellaciously harsh place. 

The mound that represented the dead bear kept drawing his attention. Above him light flickered and then blazed in a maelstrom of cold beauty. Only for a moment did the man gaze at it, understanding what it was, but not its name. Then in the pale light he turned back to the bear. He walked over and squatted next to the dead beast. The bear was still warm, soft steam rose from its carcass. 

Looking down, he felt, rather than saw the knife in his hand. Pictures formed themselves in his mind and almost instantly action came. Lifting a front paw, he ran the razor sharp blade along the breastbone and down the belly. Steam rose in clouds enveloping him in warmth. He pulled out the viscera with cold-numbed fingers, ignoring the smell and gory mess in the pleasure of warmth. Then he drew the knife blade down the inside of each leg. They were agony to cut the skin away from and the paws were impossible. His fingers began to grow numb in the cold and finally he just hacked the paws off. He finished removing the skin from two of the limbs and then had to find a piece of metal from the wreckage to use as a lever to turn the bear to its other side. He finished removing the skin from the other two paws. After that it was somewhat easier to cut the skin from the flesh of the back. Still, he was sweating by the time he had finally parted the skin from the bones and organs. Flesh still clung to the hide but the solitary man didn’t mind. It was warmth, too, and besides, the fur would be against his body. 

His chest burned as he wrapped the huge fur tightly around him, but he ignored that discomfort, too, in the luxury of feeling warm. He moved close to the dying embers of the fire, still wishing he had some way to keep it going. Looking up at the dancing, blazing lights, he felt mesmerized by them, those waving, undulating bands. He watched for a while until the pain in his chest extended to his neck and shoulders. The man knew he had to keep moving. He couldn’t sit still and he couldn’t fall asleep. Even with the bearskin, he would still freeze to death if he stopped moving. And so he got up and began walking slowly around the small glow of the almost dead fire. Even when there was nothing but darkness where the fire had once been, he continued walking. On and on he walked, farther and farther away from the scene of carnage. 

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Captain Lee Crane was studying the latest course projections and plotting slight changes when Sparks approached. Lee kept part of his attention on the chart, waiting for the radioman’s message. When nothing happened, he realized that the radioman himself had come to deliver the message and didn’t call him, or send a rating with the transcribed message. He looked up and the look on Spark’s face filled him with dread. The radioman’s face held utmost sadness; almost despair, as though someone had died. “What is it?” Lee asked, straightening up to his full height. 

Sparks could say nothing. He simply handed the captain the printed message. 

Crane gazed at it and then read it again. ‘We regret to inform you that Admiral Harriman Nelson’s plane went down in the Alaskan wilderness. There were no survivors.’ “Where did this come from?” he demanded. His eyes had read the message, but his heart couldn’t believe it. This had happened before and the horrible words had been wrong before. Hopefully, they were again. It had been almost two days since the admiral had contacted him. But that wasn’t unusual. Lee had just assumed he had been busy preparing for the convention. And besides, they were all big boys and the admiral totally trusted his Gray Lady in the hands of her crew. 

Leaving Sparks in the radio shack, Lee made contact with the Institute. “Angie!” he demanded more forcefully than he had intended. “What the hell’s with this message I just received? The admiral sent a brief message that he had landed in Fairbanks just the day before yesterday.”

“Lee, he was persuaded to make an aerial tour of some of the area in dispute,” Angie informed him. “The small bush plane went down. Appears it was by explosive detonation.”

“A bomb?” he asked, his voice more moderate. 

“Missile most likely, from what I have been sent.” Angie’s voice was beginning to sound strained as though the effort to remain neutral was getting too difficult. It sounded as though she had covered the receiver with her hand. There was muffled noise in the background and Lee could tell she had been crying and was about ready to again. 

“And they’ve gotten an investigative team up there?”

“No. There’s a huge snowstorm up in the area. There was only the report by one of the delegates who had talked the admiral into this trip and a hasty infrared reconnaissance by a local bush policeman.”

“And?”

“Just what I sent you. The best they could tell there was no one alive.”

Telling us there were no survivors when they don’t even know? he mused, his irritation growing. “What do you mean, ‘best they could tell’?”

Angie’s voice choked. “Snowstorm, Lee. It was the best they could do until it blows over. Sometimes these storms last days and it’s suicide to go out in them.”

Crane was silent. The inexorably tight grip of fear squeezed his heart tighter and tighter. It warred with anger and denial. If the Flying Sub was ready, I still wouldn’t be able to fly up there. Damn!! “Keep me posted, Angie,” he finally said, his voice softer and much more understanding. 

“I will.” Her voice trailed off into a quickly contained sob. “Lee, I’m so afraid it’s true.”

“Angie, there’s still hope.”

“They said the temperature has been below zero,” she replied.

“This is the admiral, not some green city boy,” Lee reassured her. 

“I know.”

“Have the local authorities report directly with me, too, when they contact you next.”

“I will.” Another sob turned to a soft hiccup. “What are you going to do?”

“Finish our present assignment, Angie, just as the admiral planned. But we’re going to do it in the northern Pacific. After that, any other agency wanting our services can stand in line or go to hell if they so choose,” he replied tersely, the thin smile not reaching his eyes. “We’ll be heading north to Alaska.”

“Can I quote you on that, Lee?”

“No, you can have them contact me or Chip and we’ll tell them that.”

“Good luck, Captain.”

Crane motioned to Sparks and turned to see Chip Morton gazing at him. Lee handed him the message without saying anything. Then he picked up a nearby mike. “Chief Sharkey, report to the control room.” He paused, then took a deep breath. “This is the captain. I have received a message from the Institute. The admiral was out in the Alaskan bush and all indications are that his plane was shot down. So far no survivors have been found. We will be using all of our resources to find the admiral.” He paused and took another breath. “I would suggest, based on your own beliefs, that you pray for a successful conclusion,” he added. “Carry on.”

He and Morton looked into each other’s eyes without saying a word and then headed toward the control room. “Mr. Morton, take us down a hundred feet. Full speed.” He looked at the chart. “Heading one zero nine. We’ll finish the shakedown and then head north--to the shipyard closest to Anchorage.”

“Aye, sir.” Orders were barked and Crane felt the boat come to its new heading in the subtle way that most people who are unused to submarines wouldn’t even notice. 

“Captain, your orders?” It was Sharkey. He had the appearance of one whose father had just died. 

Crane thought it an excellent analogy under the circumstances. “Chief, you and I are going to work on finishing the alterations to the Flying Sub.” 

“Aye, sir.”

“Right now, she’s too dangerous to fly, or I’d already be gone. As it is, I want her ready to fly yesterday,” Lee added. “With cold weather modifications.” 

“Yes, sir!”


	3. Chapter 3

**The man kept walking, even though his legs seemed to be made of ice and the bearskin covering had stiffened.He kept on walking.His hands and feet felt numb, along with his brain.He couldn’t think of anything other than why he was here.What had happened back there that had torn the world apart?**

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**He kept walking until his legs gave out.Then, when he hit the ground, he felt the pain from his knees jerking his senses back to his dilemma.The cold ground made him shiver even more violently.He tried to get up, but wasn’t able to make his limbs work.He couldn’t make his frozen hands release the bearskin.He wanted to cry, but was unable to.It would have been useless anyway, the man thought.Tears would have frozen and made him even more uncomfortable.**

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**Then he thought of the flare gun he had used on the bear.Maybe, just maybe he could make it work.His stiff fingers fumbled under the furry bear hide for the pistol.He couldn’t find it.He dug under the tattered parka.There was no pistol.Finally with an almost inaudible moan of despair, he gave up.He huddled under the skin wondering again how he had come to this point.Even as he fell asleep, he was still wondering.**

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**Utaq watched the stranger through narrowed eyes.He had seen the crash of the airplane and noted the death of one of the men.He had really wanted nothing to do with the white men, even in death, but then he became fascinated by the actions of the second man.A hibernating ‘_aklark’_ or grizzly bear, one that had lost the right to eat the dead man, had attacked the survivor.It must have been older to be so unsuccessful in hunting to eat a man, dead or otherwise.**

**  
**

**The man had not run from aklark.Indeed, he had ingeniously shoved a weapon down its gullet and fired.And then when the bear had died, the white man had skinned it for protection against the cold, wisely wrapping himself fur-side in.When the man had walked away from the crash site and into the forest, Utaq had continued to follow him.The Eskimo had paused in his surveillance of _Nanurark_, or bearskin, as he was calling the white man, only long enough to go and cut several large chunks of bear meat to share with his dogs.The winter had been harsh on those still following traditional ways and meat like this, even though it was rangy and overly lean, should not be wasted.This was the only foolish thing the white man had done.A warm meal would have been of great use in the walk that Nanurark was making.**

**  
**

**Popping a small piece of the still steaming liver in his mouth, Utaq turned back to the white man’s trail.He would follow as long as the man was traveling in the general direction he wanted to go and as long as the weather held up.He urged his quietly straining dogs on the path made by Nanurark, pondering what he would do when the white man’s stamina waned.While he could care less for what he considered foreigners, still he didn’t think he could leave one out in the wilderness to die.Nanurark continued onward, though, plodding through the old snow with what appeared to be some kind of fierce inner determination.It was halfway through the long night before the man’s strength finally gave out.In the meantime Utaq had seen evidence of caribou on the fringes of the forest, much more than he had seen for many days.Perhaps this strange _Gus'k'ikwáan_, or white man was good luck.**

**  
**

**Utaq noticed the slight difference in the feel and sound of the wind and knew that the weather was changing for the worst.He gazed at the huddled man on the snow-covered ground.The man was one of those his tribe had turned their backs on, but the idea that this unorthodox intruder could bring good luck intrigued him.Utaq decided to make a shelter and rest here during the storm.Staking his dogs just inside a thicker stand of trees, the Inuit temporarily ignored the stranger and searched for materials for his shelter.While he was casting about, the wind continued to pick up and snow began falling, a precursor to a blizzard.He cut pine boughs and brought them back to his sledge.He pulled a hide and canvas tent from the sledge and set it up with the surety of one who had done this many times.The dogs barked a chorus, anticipating their breakfast and then they quieted down anticipating the storm.Utaq latticed the boughs over the tent to insulate it and then he checked out the man.To his surprise, the bearskin-clad man was awake, huddled at the base of a nearby tree, watching him.Obviously he was cold, only his eyes were showing.Even in the dark glow of the Arctic pre-dawn, the blue of the man’s eyes was evident.They seemed almost luminous in their appraisal.**

**  
**

**Utaq motioned for the man to get in his tent even as the snow began falling harder.Stumbling to his feet, the white man did just that, never relinquishing his tight hold on the bloody bearskin.Cutting some of the bear meat for his dogs, Utaq gathered the rest of his supplies into the shelter with him.Without saying a word, he pulled out an old camp stove and filled the reservoir with seal oil.Pumping several times, he struck a match under the pilot and watched with satisfaction as the small flame flashed brightly.He turned the knob in front and the flame flared around the circular burner.A pot went on it to heat while Utaq went outside and gathered some of the fresh snow.It was continuing to snow more heavily and he was able to gather several armfuls rather quickly.Each time he slipped back into the shelter, the man watched him with inquisitive eyes.He didn’t say anything, didn’t move, only watched.**

**  
**

**Utaq pondered, but continued to do what needed to be done.There would be time for talk later.Aklark.Aklark—the brown bear.That’s what the man reminded him of.There was something a bit fierce about this man, despite his weak and half-frozen condition.Of course, he would have to be, Utaq reminded himself, considering that the grizzly bear had attacked him and the Gus'k'ikwáan had killed him with only a flare pistol.**

**  
**

**He went back out of the tent and pulled a second rifle from the sledge.Then he paused as he heard a sound above the noise of the wind and rustling tree limbs.It was a cautious sound, perhaps indicating a prey animal rather than a predator.Utaq heard whining from the dogs and silenced them with a motion of his hand.He prided himself that he had trained them to respond that way as well as by voice.He did not possess a whip; he had never needed one.**

**  
**

**Quietly, Utaq crept toward the sound.He was now beyond sight of the campground, though the swirling thick snow had made that a fact almost before he had walked ten paces from the entrance.Quietly, he continued his stealthy search.The noise stopped and he stopped.His eyes surveyed the area.Even his plumed breath was muted.Then he saw it—a large male caribou stepped to the edge of the thicket.The pre-dawn twilight made it hard to see, but there was a blood-encrusted tear on one flank, as well as dried blood on his antlers.It was quickly apparent that the creature had been targeted by a pack of wolves and had fled into the forest to escape.Utaq listened.There was no evidence that the predators had followed.The reasons why the animal had taken refuge here was immaterial; it was only important that he had.The Eskimo had been greatly blessed by this good fortune.Even as he was thinking these thoughts, Utaq drew his rifle to his shoulder, sighted and fired.**

**  
**

**The caribou had seen him move and turned to bolt just as Utaq had thought he would.The bullet was true and the animal dropped in its tracks.Behind him, he heard the dogs begin a cacophony of barks and howls.Ignoring them, Utaq walked to the dead caribou and gazed at it.He frowned.Either he would have to cut the carcass here and make several trips back to the tent, or harness the dogs again, or . . . or ask the Gus'k'ikwáan to help him.He doubted that the man had a great deal of strength, but even a little would allow him to haul the caribou back to the camp and hang it from one of the trees there.Turning, he made his way quickly back to his camp and saw the stranger standing at the entrance of the shelter, Utaq’s other rifle in his hands.For a moment the Eskimo wondered if the man was going to use it on him, but the rifle was at his side, his gaze not aggressive.**

**  
**

**“I didn’t know what was happening,” the blue-eyed man said when Utaq stared at the rifle.The bearskin had been left behind and the torn parka revealed some injury from the encounter with the bear.The voice was mellow, low as though coming from deep within.The man didn’t need to speak loudly in order to be heard even over the increasing wind.**

**  
**

**“I was hunting and shot a caribou,” Utaq said in explanation.** ****

**  
**

**“I don’t know what I could do to help, but I am willing to try . . . if you need any,” the man offered.“It looks like a blizzard’s coming.”**

**  
**

**Utaq nodded.“Get the knife from inside.”**

**  
**

**The man said nothing, but ducked inside.He was quickly back, handing the knife to Utaq, who had collected a stout leather rope.The white man followed Utaq to the caribou.With deftness and acquired skill, the hunter prepared to dress the carcass.He directed his companion to help him drag the caribou back to camp and a nearby tree, where the two of them pulled the carcass off the ground to hang head down from a stout limb.It was the only such available tree in the vicinity of his camp.Near the tundra, the forest growth was usually scraggly and stunted with only pockets of larger growth.**

**  
**

**Again Utaq directed a glance at the man straining beside him.The sheen of sweat beaded his brow and as he pulled on the rope, he could see the grimace of pain pass across his face.The wounds from the bear would have to be tended soon.Some would say that all that had happened this night was coincidence, but now no one would be able to convince Utaq that this man wasn’t good luck.Two food supplies in one day was more than coincidence.The Eskimo would gladly take care of this man as long as he needed it.**

**  
**

**Again with deft skill, Utaq finished dressing the caribou.He directed the man to get a pot from inside the tent.When Utaq slit the animal’s throat, he did two things that seemed to interest the white man.He intoned a prayer to the animal’s spirit and caught the blood in the pot.It would make a fine soup.He handed the pot back to his new companion and conversed with him as he worked on the carcass.“The plane you were in.Where did it come from?”**

**  
**

**“Plane?So that’s what all that wreckage was?”**

**  
**

**Utaq continued to work, but his mind was busy.The stranger either had already been on the ground, but no, that couldn’t be.Utaq had been hunting this region for some time and there had been no other incursions.The man just couldn’t remember or he didn’t want to say.**

**  
**

**“Who are you?” the Gus'k'ikwáan asked.**

**  
**

**“Utaq.”Some of his people would be hesitant to give their personal names to strangers, but this man had proven himself to be of worth not only to Utaq, but to the people of his village as well. Besides, the white man didn’t understand the custom.“And you?”**

**  
**

**The man opened his mouth to speak, then close it again.He looked confused and then agitated.There was a glimpse of fear in the blue eyes.“I . . . I don’t know,” he finally stammered.“Do you know who I am?”**

**  
**

**“No,” Utaq admitted.“But the snow is falling faster and we need to finish dressing the caribou.We can talk more in the tent.Right now, take the pot in and put it on the stove.”**

**  
**

**With a nod barely discernable in the twilight morning, the man picked up the pot and took it into the tent.He returned a moment later and silently helped Utaq with the carcass, doing exactly what the Eskimo asked him to do.A few of the dogs whined in anticipation but otherwise lay quietly and let the snow cover them. **

**  
**

**By the time they had finished, the snow was falling like a heavy curtain, making it difficult to see even the caribou’s carcass hanging from the tree above them.** ****

**  
**

**Utaq was quick.The stranger wasn’t able to help a great deal anymore, but he saved time by throwing scraps and bones to the dogs and helping him raise the bundled meat higher; enough into the tree to keep other animals from disturbing it until after the storm blew over. With a look of satisfaction, Utaq motioned to the man and headed toward the tent.He figured this storm would blow out in two to three days.More than enough time to eat, rest and try to find out more about the mysterious white man.**

**  
**

**“I almost warmed up out there,” the stranger quipped as they both crouched and entered the shelter.**

**  
**

**“Good,” Utaq grunted, feeling over-warm right now.He smelled the broth and smiled in satisfaction.He cut up and tossed in a few chunks of bear meat, opened a small packet and added some salt and pepper.Then he pulled off his outer parka and sat against a rolled up fur.He gazed intently at the man sitting a few feet across from him.The portable cook stove’s fire lit the small enclosure to just a little brighter than the morning twilight.The man must have been feeling the cold again now that he was inactive, because he reached for the bearskin.**

**  
**

**“No,” Utaq said, tossing him his outer parka.“The skin needs to be cleaned and preserved.Then it will be a fitting tribute to your prowess as well as keeping you warm. **

**  
**

**“You sure you don’t need this?” the man asked, indicating the proffered parka.** ****

**  
**

**Utaq shook his head and then smiled.“You are not from here or you wouldn’t feel the cold so deeply.**

**  
**

**The man pulled the parka over his head and sighed at the feeling of warmth it created.He only wished he knew where he had come from, and most especially he wished he knew who he was.**

**  
**

**“You really don’t remember your name?” Utaq asked as the wind outside began shrieking intermittently.The sides of the shelter rattled ominously, but everything stayed tight.Utaq checked the center post as he waited for the white man’s answer.“You don’t remember anything at all?”**

**  
**

**“No,” he said softly, shaking his head.“It’s a very frightening feeling,” he added after a long pause.“As though you are a cipher; nothing at all but a black spot under someone’s heel.”The voice fell off, almost to a whisper.**

**  
**

**“Then until you do remember, I will give you a name,” Utaq pronounced decisively.There was something drawing him to this man.It was like this Gus'k'ikwáan was some kind of magnet, drawing Utaq to him and enfolding him into his soul.And yet it wasn’t a threatening feeling.It was like breathing in the essence of a beloved uncle.The Eskimo man could only imagine what it might have been like if the man did know who he was.Or might that be the reason for this feeling now—that the man didn’t have his memories to hide the inner soul?Utaq shook himself mentally.The spirits of the land might or might not reveal the answers to him.**

**  
**

**The blue-eyed man just gazed at him in surprise for a moment, then he frowned.“That won’t give me back my memories and it certainly won’t tell me who I am.”**

**  
**

**“It will tell you who you are now, though.And when the rest comes, it will all add together.”**

**  
**

**“All right, what do you plan to call me?”There was a hint of a smile, and Utaq thought that the white man was secretly pleased with his concern.**

**  
**

**“There are two choices that come to mind,” Utaq began, relaxing more comfortably on a rolled up fur blanket.“Nanurark was my first choice, because of the way you utilized the bear skin.But the more I am around you, the more I am inclined to call you Aklark.”**

**  
**

**“Why?” came the simple question.**

**  
**

**“Because you not only looked like the brown bear as you were walking, but I see some of the dead bear’s personality in you.”** ****

**  
**

**The man blinked in surprise and then began laughing.** ****

**  
**

**It was Utaq’s turn to look surprised.“I enjoy a good joke.Why do you laugh?”**

**  
**

**“You have said I have some of the dead bear’s personality.Do you mean I am nasty tempered and irascible?”**

**  
**

**Utaq chuckled, and then he shook his head.“Maybe, but I meant that you are courageous and I also see power in you.There are very few men who could kill a fully-grown aklark almost with his bare hands.There are very few who would even have the courage to try.”**

**  
**

**“I had a flare pistol,” the man pointed out.**

**  
**

**Utaq shrugged.“It takes more than the power of a pistol to kill a mighty bear like that.You have some kind of magic force that is helping you.”**

**  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**“Aklark, do you remember nothing before the bear attacked you?” Utaq asked.** ****

**  
**

**As Utaq studied the pot of soup, Aklark furrowed his brow in intense thought.If by will alone, he could bring back memories, it would have already have been done.He shook his head.“Only screaming and the smell of burning fuel.”**

**  
**

**“The screaming was the other man with you and the burning was your plane.”** ****

**  
**

**Aklark suddenly had a thought.He wondered why it hadn’t come before.He jerked off the borrowed parka, grimacing in pain as he did so, and dug in the pockets of his own parka—only to find them torn to shreds as was much of the parka itself.He checked his pants pockets and then he remembered he had turned them inside out trying to find something to burn.Did he even have identification?Was it now sitting in the snow by the rubble of the burned plane?“I have to go back,” he declared.**

**  
**

**“Not now.”** ****

**  
**

**“You don’t understand!My identity is back there!”**

**  
**

**“Death is back there if you go now.The storm is upon us and will be for at least two days.”He gazed at the man as he put his head in his hands.Apparently the cold was temporarily forgotten.“Aklark, when this storm is over the wilderness patrols will be out.They will comb the area.You come with me to the hunts.Perhaps we will see one of them.If not, afterward I will be taking hides to the post.They will have news there.You can make inquiries.In the meantime, perhaps memories will begin to return.**

**  
**

**The man now called Aklark heard the howling wind and felt the fingers of cold biting at him.He shivered and gave in to Utaq’s reasoning.**

**  
**

**“Let me look at your wounds and clean them before they get infected,” the hunter said.**

**  
**

**Aklark had been uncomfortable where the bear had cut his chest with its claws, but he hadn’t complained.Now, as Utaq gently examined and then cleaned the wounds, he was grateful for the man’s attention.The torn flesh burned as the medications were applied, but he felt a great deal better afterward.**

**  
**

**Aklark slept restlessly as the storm continued to batter their makeshift shelter.He dreamed intermittently, but couldn’t remember the dreams.The only thing that lingered was the sea.When he awoke, waves lapped against the fringes of his mind. At first, when he would wake up, he would see Utaq gazing at him.There came a time when he awoke and found Utaq laying next to him, snoring softly.Apparently he trusted him now.**

**  
**

**An undetermined time later, Aklark woke to find Utaq grinning at him.“The meal you helped provide is ready now, my friend,” the Eskimo declared.**

**  
**

**“How long have we been asleep?”** ****

**  
**

**Utaq shrugged.“About half a day.”**

**  
**

**“You don’t have a watch?”** ****

**  
**

**Laughing, Utaq simply said.“I don’t need a watch.I know the time by the stars or the sun—or it is something that doesn’t really matter.As now.”He peered carefully at his new companion.“You don’t have a watch?Most white men do.”**

**  
**

**Aklark shook his head.“I already looked.I know I once wore one but it’s gone now.”**

**  
**

**“Probably when the bear attacked you.”** ****

**  
**

**“I suppose.”** ****

**  
**

**“Have your dreams told you anything?”** ****

**  
**

**Aklark shook his head again.“I don’t remember my dreams.The only thing I can remember is waves.The sea.”**

**  
**

**“What color are they?” Utaq asked.**

**  
**

**“Color?What difference does that make?”**

**  
**

**“The sea here is almost always gray and most of the year there is ice.So gray and white.Occasionally blue.”**

**  
**

**“Blue with foam sluicing over something—like glass, I suppose.”**

**  
**

**“Interesting,” Utaq mused.** ****

**  
**

**“Does that mean anything to you?”** ****

**  
**

**“Perhaps.The oceans further south are more blue; but the rest?” Utaq shook his head.“I don’t know.”Then he realized that he did know.If this man was tied to the water then he had to be the man his cousin had sent him to meet—Admiral Harriman Nelson.Utaq almost told him, but hesitated.What could telling him his real name accomplish?Especially if he was wrong.The man before him had taken on the power of the land and the bear he had killed.He had then brought luck to Utaq’s hunting, and presumably would bring fortune to his people.He could tell this man nothing more than the two words of his name and the one word of his title.No, Utaq decided, he would wait until Aklark began to remember on his own.He would wait and see what the spirits of the land decided.**

**  
**

**With that decision made, Utaq noticed Aklark studying him carefully.“No,” he repeated, “I do not understand the other part of your dream.”**

**  
**

**Aklark continued to study him for another minute and then he nodded.**

**  
**

**_Does he know?_ Utaq asked himself.The man, for all of his lost memory, had a gaze that penetrated almost to the very center of his soul.And yet it wasn’t the gaze of someone trying to control him or exert his own power.It was different.Curiosity?His cousin, Maria had said that this Nelson was a scientist.Not that Utaq had a great deal of respect for the profession.The few he had met in his younger days had not been pleasant for the most part.Either they were puppy dog eager and innocent, wanting to change the world, or they were arrogant and all knowing, trying to tell the people how they should live even though they had lived successfully here for hundreds of years.Utaq wondered what kind of scientist this one was when he knew himself.**

**  
**

**“The wind has almost died down,” Aklark noted.**

**  
**

**“For now,” Utaq replied.“Time to go feed the dogs.”**

**  
**

**“Would you like some help?”** ****

**  
**

**“Yes, help me cut up the pieces of meat.”** ****

**  
**

**When they went out, Aklark noticed that the landscape had changed.Snow had drifted against one side of their shelter and against the stands of trees.The ground was almost scoured in other areas.**

**  
**

**The dogs were yapping and jumping eagerly, their chains adding to the cacophonous din of the twilight day.**

**  
**

**“Spring, right?” Aklark asked Utaq after they had cut the half frozen meat into fist sized chunks.**

**  
**

**“Yes, but how can you tell?”** ****

**  
**

**“The distance of the sun from the horizon for one thing.Had to be fall or spring, but I figured spring because of the plant growth on the trees.”The explanation was simply that—an explanation.There was no smugness or superiority.**

**  
**

**Utaq smiled.“Very observant, my friend.It is the time of the spring thaw in the forests and the last of the hunts on the pack ice.”**

**  
**

**“Is that where your village is now?”** ****

**  
**

**“Yes.”** ****

**  
**

**“And we’ll be able to make contact with someone who might know me?”The voice was almost plaintive.**

**  
**

**“We should, in time,” Utaq told the white man.** ****

**  
**

**“I guess I will have to be satisfied with that.”**

**  
**

**“Yes, considering that you do not know this wilderness, I suppose so,” Utaq replied.“It looks like the snow is coming again.Let’s go in and eat our meal now.”The wind began to howl as they settled to their dinners. **

** During most of the next day Aklark continued to sleep off and on, dreaming of people and places that he couldn’t remember for more than a few seconds after he woke.When they weren’t sleeping, they listened to the wind howling and Utaq would tell legends and tales of his people.**

**  
**

**During one of the tales, the Eskimo lit a cigarette and Aklark looked at it longingly, but didn’t want to infringe on the man’s hospitality more than he already had.Utaq seemed to understand much, however and handed him a cigarette.Aklark lit it on the camp stove, as had Utaq and together they smoked in companionable silence.**

**  
**

**A little more than a day later, the storm finally blew itself out and the two men emerged from the shelter, Aklark in his companion’s extra parka.The ruined one would go back to the village where the women would try their hand at salvaging it.**

**  
**

**The dogs shook snow off their backs and stood in anticipation, straining against their chains.“Is it over?” Aklark asked.**

**  
**

**“Yes.It is time to leave,” Utaq said.**

**  
**

**With the Eskimo’s instructions, the white man helped load up the sledge with all the supplies and the frozen meat.It was heaped so high that Aklark wondered how the dogs would be able to pull it.The size of the load didn’t seem to concern the animals though.He watched them prance in eager anticipation as Utaq clipped their harnesses to the traces.They barked as though Utaq had already ordered them to go.Finally everything was in place.**

**  
**

**“You will soon warm up now, Aklark,” Utah said with a laugh.“_Gih_!” he shouted and the dogs shot forward.The sled ran easily on the new snow and the Eskimo and white man trotted behind.After awhile, though, Aklark was panting heavily, his breath coming in painful, frozen gasps, the wounds on his chest pulling and smarting.“Utaq,” he finally called out as he lagged behind the sledge and its owner.**

**  
**

**The Eskimo stopped the dogs with a command.Then he gazed at the beleaguered man.“Apparently, you did not do things in your other life that included anything strenuous,” he said evenly. **

**  
**

**Aklark glared at his new friend.“I’m older than you are,” he growled.**

**  
**

**Utaq laughed.“Very well.Since you are my elder, stand at the back of the sled on the runners.”**

**  
**

**“Won’t that be too heavy for the dogs?”** ****

**  
**

**“They are strong and once they build up speed, it will all be the same.We will be running on smoother ground soon,” Utaq explained.**

**  
**

**Aklark was too tired to argue, so he stood on the back runners and hung on.Utaq shouted to the dogs and they strained and dug into the snow and began pulling the sled.Soon they were flying along as fast as they had before.Utaq ran easily behind.**

**  
**

**They continued even after the sun, which had traveled only halfway overhead, had sunk back beneath the horizon.They left the forest behind and traveled under the ribbons of light in the sky.Aklark watched the magical lights, all the while picturing different pulsating lights in a deep, black velvet setting.But where?Where had he seen such wonders?Who was he? How had he come to be here with the name of a bear?What did Utaq know about him?Somehow, Aklark felt that his companion knew something.Was it something about his past?Still, he trusted Utaq, so he didn’t think the Eskimo meant him any harm.To the contrary, the younger man had seemed to have an almost reverent attitude when he had given him his name.**

**  
**

**He could come up with nothing, so he just had to shrug it off for now.During one of the short rest stops, while Utaq was checking the dogs’ feet, Aklark watched with interest.“Do you have to put shoes on your dogs feet every time you take them out?”**

**  
**

**“No, only when we make long journeys, or when the ground is particularly rugged—with a lot of ice.It keeps the ice crystals from forming between their toes and crippling them, or tearing up the pads of their feet.Like your own shoes, which were unsuitable for walking in this terrain.”**

**  
**

**Aklark remembered when Utaq had pulled out his extra mukluks and had him try them on.Luckily they had been an almost perfect fit.Indeed, he and Utaq were almost the same build, height and weight.Aklark wondered at the time why they would be more suitable than the hiking boots he had on.Somehow, he would have thought that leather would be more slippery than the soles of the treaded boots.But that had not been the case, he noted now.“What is your word for that?” he asked pointing and then remembered the term for it—the aurora borealis.**

**  
**

**“_Aksarnerk_,” Utaq replied, after glancing to where the white man was pointing.It was a question that was repeated often over the next several days of their journey.Aklark slowly built a vocabulary of Eskimo words on which he added other words to make rudimentary sentences.By the time they had reached the temporary camp of his village out on the pack ice, he and Aklark were carrying on conversations in a curious mixture of _InupiaQ_ and English.**

**  
**

**Aklark had also increased his stamina so that he was running behind the sled for longer and longer periods of time.It was just as well, as Utaq had shot another caribou, a very large male, and added it to the larder on the sledge.The dogs gamely pulled the increased load, but the lead dog, Kayok, would gaze reproachfully at him when Aklark had to take a rest riding on the back runners.**

**  
**

**Before the dogs raced into camp, the rest of the camp’s entire contingent of sled dogs, including new puppies, had greeted them.The howling and barking reached a cacophony that almost hurt the ears.Shouting and laughter also greeted them as the two men and the team dashed into the village.The laughter died, though, when it was determined that Utaq’s companion was a Gus'k'ikwáan.**

**  
**

**Aklark felt the uncompromisingly hostile gazes of about two-dozen people and had absolutely no idea what to do about it.He felt that silence was the better course right now.This was Utaq’s territory.**

**  
**

**“Utaq, why did you bring this Gus'k'ikwáan to our camp when by agreement we decided to have nothing to do with the white men?” an older woman asked reprovingly.**

**  
**

**Aklark knew that the angry comment had been addressed to Utaq and was about him, and that they were not happy with his presence, but he didn’t understand all the words.**

**  
**

**“Mother, this one came to me during a storm, wrapped in the skin of the brown bear, which he had killed.”**

**  
**

**Some of the hostility changed to awe as the dark eyes swung in Aklark’s direction again.**

**  
**

**“His former life and name are lost to him now.He is Aklark, and the moment he came I began having luck with the hunting,” Utaq continued, pointing to the mound of meat on the sledge.**

**  
**

**Aklark understood almost all of Utaq’s speech and was uncomfortable.**

**  
**

**“He truly doesn’t know his white man’s name?” the older woman asked.** ****

**  
**

**“No,” Aklark answered in InupiaQ before Utaq could respond.He continued in their tongue, “Utaq has shown me kindness.”He was sure he had butchered the language, but the old woman and most of the rest were now gazing at him with new eyes.There seemed to be a measure of respect.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The shakedown had not been going well.Some of the new systems that had been installed at the Institute had not stood the test of a deep dive and had to be replaced with a combination of old parts and the usable new parts.As the submarine sat on the surface, repairs were being done around the clock.The captain was relentless in his desire to have the _Seaview_ up and running as soon as possible, even to working with the men on his off hours to get them done.When not doing that, he was in the Flying Sub with Chief Sharkey, trying to get the small jet working.**

**  
**

**“Lee,” Chip said, after he had found the captain under one of the Flying sub’s consoles.There was a muffled noise that the exec took as an affirmative.He took a deep breath, knowing that his recommendations wouldn’t be taken well by Lee, the friend or Lee the commanding officer.“Lee, you just finished two consecutive watches.You need to get something to eat and get some sleep.”**

**  
**

**There was a clatter and a muffled curse.Crane only part way pulled out from under the console before he responded.“I’m fine, Mr. Morton.”**

**  
**

**That went well, thought Chip morosely.“We found another bad part in the nav system.I don’t know why these parts weren’t closely inspected before they were installed in the systems.”**

**  
**

**“Because Murphy shipped on with us,” Crane said without humor, finally pulling out from under the console.**

**  
**

**The dark circles under Lee’s eyes were more pronounced and Chip knew that exhaustion threatened to engulf his friend.“Lee, I think for the safety of the boat and crew, we need to return to the Institute.”**

**  
**

**Crane glared at him and then took a deep breath to calm himself.“We’ll continue to make repairs here and test them on the way to Anchorage, Chip.If I have to, I’ll fly to the area of the admiral’s disappearance with a bush pilot when we get to Alaska and you can take the boat back to Santa Barbara.I’d rather have the versatility of the Flying Sub, but I am going to look for the admiral, one way or the other.”**

**  
**

**Morton sighed.“All right, Lee, but you need to take a break and rest.”**

**  
**

**Lee’s answer was to slide back under the console.Sharkey, who had been a silent witness simply shrugged.Chip quietly left.**

**  
**

**Conley poked his head through the hatch of the Flying Sub a few minutes later.“Skipper!”**

**  
**

**“Yes, Conley?”** ****

**  
**

**“Message for you from the Institute, sir.”** ****

**  
**

**“Have it piped through the Flying Sub’s communications,” Crane ordered.** ****

**  
**

**“Lee?” Angie sounded dispirited.**

**  
**

**Who wasn’t, Lee thought.“Yes, Angie.”**

**  
**

**“You sound exhausted,” she said, apparently in an attempt to focus on something other than the admiral’s disappearance.“Have you slept any?”**

**  
**

**“What do you think, Angie?” he said in exasperation.“What do you have?” he asked, hoping to forestall any further comments about his own health.**

**  
**

**“There are reports from Alaska,” she said, her voice choking.**

**  
**

**Lee put down the tool he was using and put his full attention to what she was preparing to say.Something hard and cold knotted deep inside.“What is it?”**

**  
**

**“The search and rescue team has found evidence of both the pilot and a passenger at the site of the wreckage.The admiral’s wallet was found.They will widen the search, but as of right now, they don’t hold out hope.”**

**  
**

**“What’s keeping them from making a positive ID?”** ****

**  
**

**Again Angie hesitated, then, “Nothing stays unscavenged up there, especially after a hard winter, Lee,” she replied, her voice filled with sorrowful repugnance.“They said there were bone fragments everywhere.”She paused.“And there’s another storm, too.”**

**  
**

**The horror of what she said enlarged the hard, cold knot.“I want something more concrete than that, Angie.Forensic scientists have a great deal at their disposal these days.”**

**  
**

**“Lee,” she began.** ****

**  
**

**“No, Angie, don’t even say it,” he snapped.“If they can’t come up with better evidence than that, then I will continue to believe he’s still up there somewhere waiting to be rescued.”_If I could just get off the boat and do it!_**

** **

** _  
_ **

**“I’ll let you know of any further developments, Captain,” Angie told him.She cut the communications, knowing that any further comments were futile.She looked at her desk and saw the piles of condolence messages that had been pouring in the past day after the news media had picked up the story and quoted a Fairbanks police official as saying that the admiral was undoubtedly dead.There had been no sense in telling Lee about the condolence messages from Admiral Emery and several other high-ranking colleagues of Admiral Nelson’s.Lee would just say they had written him off and that they didn’t know the admiral that well.**

**  
**

**Angie knew the depth of the friendship the two men had developed.That a subordinate and his commanding officer could have such a relationship as Lee’s and the admiral’s was astonishing.Now she was afraid that Captain Crane was exhibiting far too much of that relationship.He was acting more as a child grieving for a parent would.With a sigh, she returned to the day-to-day activities that had thus far not taken her mind off the admiral’s disappearance.She felt the weight of running the Institute heavy on her shoulders and she took a deep breath to keep from crying the grief that she felt deep inside.**

**  
**

**Chief Francis Sharkey gazed at his captain in horror and disbelief, but the skipper was already back under the console, returning to the work that Angie’s call had interrupted.“Sir?” he asked tentatively, afraid of the skipper’s recent bursts of temper, as well as the smoldering emotions that seemed to hide just below the surface.**

**  
**

**“Yeah?” came the distorted reply.** ****

**  
**

**“Do you think….?”** ****

**  
**

**“No!”He pulled out of the panel and turned to face the COB.“Chief, I will not believe the admiral is dead until they send more concrete proof or until I see his body.”**

**  
**

**Sharkey sighed and started to say something.**

**  
**

**“Have I made myself clear?”** ****

**  
**

**“Yes, sir,” Sharkey replied softly.**

**  
**

**Lee saw a variety of emotions pass across the CPO’s face, not the least of those being concern for him.He saw it and realized that the chief was hurting as much as any of the rest of them were.Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he collected his thoughts and reined in his own emotions.He had to, not only for himself, but for the good of the boat.“Look, Chief, there is something deep inside that tells me that Admiral Harriman Nelson is not dead.I can’t explain it.I don’t want to try to explain it.And I am certainly not going to deny its existence.I simply know that it’s there and it won’t let me believe that he’s dead and his bones spread across some frozen tundra for wild animals to gnaw on.”Lee sincerely hoped that this conviction was not just some hope-filled wish.Somehow, though, he believed it wasn’t.Not entirely, anyway.**

**  
**

**Sharkey couldn’t say a thing for a moment.This was a surprisingly admission from the skipper, but he didn’t doubt its veracity.The captain had had hunches before and most of them were unerringly right.“Then I do, too, sir,” he responded with conviction.**

**  
**

**Lee smiled softly.“Thanks, Chief.Let’s get busy so I can take her out and find the admiral.”**

**  
**

**“You’re really going to fly to Alaska, sir?”** ****

**  
**

**“Just as soon as I can.”** ****

**  
**

**“I would like to accompany you, Skipper,” Sharkey said emphatically.**

**  
**

**Lee got up and clapped the chief on the shoulder.“I think someone should be here for the men, but I will consider it.I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have with me at a time like this, Chief.”**

**  
**

**“Thank you, sir.”**

**  
**

**==========================================**

**  
**

**  
**

**The old woman continued to study Aklark carefully, even as the cold wind blew harder and harder.“You know our language?” she asked.She appeared to be at least ten or fifteen years his senior.**

**  
**

**Aklark smiled wryly.“Only a little.”**

**  
**

**“He learns quickly,” Utaq interjected.**

**  
**

**“The spirits have sent you,” an old man said suddenly.**

**  
**

**“Why would the spirits send a white man?” another man, this one younger, asked.**

**  
**

**“It is a white man’s world,” Utaq pointed out.“Perhaps Aklark comes from the spirits to the white men as well as to us.”**

**  
**

**Aklark looked at him sharply, having understood the gist of what had been said this time. His words seemed to break the ice, though, and suddenly Aklark was surrounded and plied with questions, most of which came too fast and were not understood.** ****

**  
**

**Over the next fourteen days, while the weather stayed clear, the hunters went out on the ice.Aklark always went with Utaq’s party, and despite his anxiety over his memory loss, he found the excursions fascinating.After the first such excursion, he wished he had a notebook—anything to write on.When he mentioned his desire to Utaq, his friend managed to find an old leather-bound journal and a fat, half-used pencil.“Where did this come from?” Aklark asked, examining the smooth, age-browned cover.There were only three written-on pages inside, but the notes were faded and in a language that he couldn’t read.**

**  
**

**Utaq shrugged.“It was washed up in a waterproof pouch some years ago when I was a boy.I just kept it, not sure if it was important or not.Can you read the words?”**

**  
**

**Aklark shook his head.“No, but the empty pages will be most useful and perhaps someday I can remember or find someone who can read the notes.”He was grateful.“This means a great deal to me, Utaq.”**

**  
**

**“I am glad to find someone who can use it.”Again Utaq wondered if he should tell his friend his name, but just like before, he dismissed the thought.He could offer nothing else; give Aklark nothing that would tell him who Admiral Harriman Nelson really was.All he knew was that he was a scientist his cousin thought highly enough of to ask him to see her people for a short while.When they went to the outpost—that would be soon enough.Somehow, though, the trip to the outpost kept getting put off.There were either intermittent storms, or the people were busy exploiting their newly found luck.Hunting parties went out every day that the weather was clear enough to allow them that privilege.**

**  
**

**Now that he had a notebook, Aklark began taking measurements of the different animals that were killed with knotted sinew.The women would good-naturedly wait while he studied each aspect of the dead animal, and then chuckle in amusement as he took down copious notes.But while he enthusiastically recorded, watched and studied, he also helped in the actual hunts.It bothered him not at all to wait for hours near the seals’ breathing holes.He quickly learned to work in the umiaq, or skin-covered hunting boat with the other men, helping the boat captain in whatever job was required.Whether hunting the belugas or walruses, he had unerring aim and was usually given the _ayak_, or harpoon whenever he went out with a crew.Utaq noticed that the white man had gained much strength and stamina in the days since he had first tried to run behind the dog sled.Whether Aklark ever regained his memory or not, living among the people had toughened him for whatever he had done in his previous life.**

**  
**

**The one thing that Utaq knew this white man possessed even before he had come among the people was his unerring sense of timing.It served him well, either with the harpoon or with a rifle.It was phenomenal; as though he was one with the animals they hunted, so that he always knew where they were and when they would appear or surface from under the water.Utaq’s team never failed to bring home at least one large sea creature.**

**  
**

**Occasionally Utaq would see the intense blue eyes darken and he knew that Aklark was trying to remember something.But the moments would pass quickly and the white man would again continue his study of the animals, weather or terrain, or concentrate on the hunt.But it served to remind the Eskimo hunter of his promise to help Aklark return to his past life and Utaq realized that the white man’s days among his people were numbered.It was then, too, that he wondered why his cousin hadn’t tried to contact him and he reminded himself that he needed to call Maria when he was in a position to do so.If Aklark’s memory hadn’t returned by the time he called her, perhaps Maria could help him enlighten the white man of his past life.**

**  
**

**Utaq’s guilt was assuaged also when he saw the happiness of the members of his village, their hope for the future and their attachment to this messenger from the spirits and Gods.**

**He laughed when Aklark would study the carcass of a new kill, and be totally oblivious to the children who followed him like little puppies bouncing behind their mothers.When he was aware of his audience, he would explain what he was doing in great detail and recruit one or two of the older children to help him measure with his ever-present sinew.He drew pictures of the aurora borealis at night and the movements of the sun during the day.When he wasn’t using it, Aklark very lovingly kept the old journal in a waterproof seal bladder casing, which he carried inside his parka.**

**  
**

**Returning from a particularly good hunt two weeks after his arrival at the hunting camp, Utaq asked his friend, “How do you know when and where the whales will resurface, Aklark?”** ****

**  
**

**The white man shrugged.“I can’t explain it.I just know how far they will go with the breath they take.” **

**  
**

**“But the animals can take different directions in their journey underwater,” countered Utaq.**

**  
**

**Aklark frowned.“I know, but their choices are limited by . . .”Here he switched to English, unable to figure out the InupiaQ words.“A variety of factors.”He studied Utaq’s face.“Like the lay of the ice for their next breath, the currents.”Again he shrugged.“I really don’t know for sure, Utaq, just that my choices seem right.”**

**  
**

**“Indeed they are.”Utaq clapped his friend on the shoulder.“Are you sure you aren’t Eskimo inside?”**

**  
**

**Aklark smiled ruefully.“No, I am not,” he responded, his voice deepening in his change of mood.“I don’t know what I am,” he added sadly.He took a deep, shuddering breath and again gazed at his friend.“Utaq, when are we going to the outpost?”**

**  
**

**“It will not be long, my friend.The ice has been breaking up faster than it’s formed at night, so we will be moving soon.”**

**  
**

**“Good.”Aklark gazed out at the horizon and studied the sun, which had been staying out for longer each day.“_Nakuuruq_,” he repeated.**

**  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Almost three weeks after the admiral’s disappearance, Crane finally felt he had the Flying Sub ready.He rubbed tired eyes and then kneaded sore muscles in his back.They had arrived at the Port of Anchorage only a day and a half before and while he wanted to head to the airport before they had docked, he knew how close he was to having the small submersible ready and how invaluable it would be.To assuage his impatience, he had left Sharkey to do some of the final adjustments and had gone various government offices in Anchorage, demanding some kind—any kind, of search and rescue report or action.The only item of interest that came through during those tense days of waiting was a report that one of the presenters at the conference the admiral was supposed to attend had been arrested in connection with the downing of the admiral’s plane.And that had been on a local news channel.Maria Machetanz.She would be the first contact he would look up when he flew into Fairbanks.**

**  
**

**After a day of being stonewalled, the captain came back in a temper that would rival the admiral’s in his worst mood.The only people who weren’t either frightened or impressed by his moods were Doc and Chip, and Lee tried his best to avoid both of them.For the most part he succeeded with Doc.He wasn’t quite as successful with Chip.**

**  
**

**He only had one more minor adjustment to make and then he could take the Flying Sub out for a test flight—a test flight to Fairbanks.Crane felt relief that he could also finally go to the scene of the crash and do some looking of his own.It was an action that he felt was long overdue.Just then the intercom came to life.“Captain Crane,” Sparks called out.“Report to the radio shack.”**

**  
**

**The captain jerked up from his final adjustment.“Finish this up, Chief,” he said after a moment’s hesitation.“When I get back, we’ll take her out.”**

**  
**

**“Yes, sir,” Sharkey replied, also glad to be able to do something positive.** ****

**  
**

**“Oh, and lay in a flight plan to Fairbanks,” Crane added.**

**  
**

**“Aye, aye, sir.”** ****

**  
**

**It only took a few minutes to get to the radio shack, but later Crane would see it as a moment that became frozen in time.“Yes, Sparks?” he asked the young man.**

**  
**

**“I just got this, sir,” Sparks said, his voice almost a whisper.** ****

**  
**

**Crane took the piece of paper and scanned it. Then he read it again.‘Several agencies have come to the same conclusion following extensive investigations.’_Extensive, my deep six_, Lee thought savagely.‘We regret to inform you that Admiral Harriman Nelson has been officially declared dead._Seaview_ will immediately return to Santa Barbara where a memorial and graveside service will be held in three days.’_They don’t waste time, do they, the vultures? _‘Following that, the Institute board of directors will consider future projects and assignments.’**

**  
**

**Crane stood stock still for several minutes, his face a blank mask, but his mind in turmoil.How could they give up so easily?He took a deep breath and picked up the mike.“Now hear this.This is the captain speaking.Admiral Nelson has been officially declared dead._Seaview_ will be returning to Santa Barbara for services.Prepare for immediate departure.That is all.”**

**  
**

**Almost immediately, Chip, who had the conn, was at his shoulder.“Lee?”**

**  
**

**Crane put the mike back in its cradle and turned to his executive officer.“You’ll take her back home, Commander,” he said woodenly.**

**  
**

**“And you?” Chip reached out to lay a hand on his CO’s arm, but didn’t quite touch him.In his friend’s present frame of mind, he didn’t want his gesture shrugged off.**

**  
**

**“Me?” Crane asked, his eyes scanning the men gathered around the radio shack before turning back to his exec.He favored Chip with his full attention now, something he hadn’t done for the past couple of weeks.“Mister Morton, you have the conn and the boat.Consider yourself the captain of the _Seaview_ until further notice.”He glanced again at the men who were now staring at him in shocked silence, before addressing Chip again.“But I do expect full use of the Flying Sub,” he said with a wan smile.**

**  
**

**“Lee,” Chip tried again.**

**  
**

**“I’ll be in my cabin gathering a few things.”Crane nodded and was gone.**

**  
**

**Morton also stood in shocked silence.Finally he turned to the men nearby and snapped, “As you were.”Everyone hustled back to his respective duties.“Lay in a course for the Institute,” he ordered.He walked to the chart table and perused the charts spread three deep.Most of the top layer consisted of the specifications of the admiral’s new propulsion system. Lee had been as one obsessed, trying to figure out the admiral’s notes of his modifications of the new propulsion system.While Lee Crane was savvy in almost all aspects of the boat, he couldn’t match the admiral’s genius for coming up with new ideas.Nor was it easy for him to translate many of Nelson’s ideas from paper to practical application, although he had become better at figuring out Nelson’s shorthand.**

**  
**

**The admiral had wanted to include Lee and Chip in his work on the new unit, especially considering the captain’s role in getting him the last component, but there had been simply too many other projects, missions, and similar distractions in the past several months.It was always that way and now Lee was taking out a jury-rigged Flying Sub on what was most likely a wild goose chase.And Chip dearly wished he could go with him.**

**  
**

**When the giant sub was underway, he turned the conn over to Lt. Bannon and headed to Lee’s cabin.As he expected, the captain was almost ready to leave.“Lee, you have time to talk for a few minutes?”**

**  
**

**Lee sighed and set down his duffle bag.It couldn’t have contained more than one or two changes of clothes and a few personal items.“Sure, Chip.I guess I owe you that much.”**

**  
**

**Chip nodded.“Yeah, we go back too far not to.”**

**  
**

**“And been through too much,” Crane added.He sat down heavily on his bunk, but said nothing for a few moments.**

**  
**

**“Okay, Lee, talk to me.Not as captain, but as friend to friend.”**

**  
**

**Again, Lee sighed.“A couple of weeks ago I said something to Chief Sharkey that I firmly believed.I told him that there was something inside of me that told me that the admiral was alive.”He looked deeply into Chip’s eyes.“I fully believed that; hung on to it.It became my mantra through these past few weeks, especially when I began seeing myself as I know others have been seeing me.”**

**  
**

**Morton knew exactly what Lee was talking about.The scuttlebutt that the captain was possibly cracking up had surfaced once or twice, even if most of the men wished they had that dedicated, almost obsessive drive for something other than what was being reported to them.“And now?”Chip’s voice was soft.He sat down on the only chair in the room and faced his friend. This time his hand made contact, touching Lee’s arm in a gesture that spoke volumes of the friendship and respect he had for the man across from him.**

**  
**

**“Chip, that announcement was so final.I still want to believe that little personal declaration of mine, but it’s so hard.The evidence screams that I’m a hopeless dreamer; that I can’t face reality or the truth.”He took a deep breath.“Right now I can’t stay on this boat.I can’t pretend its business as usual.”**

**  
**

**Chip smiled wanly.“You weren’t doing a heck of a good job of it before, Lee.”**

**  
**

**“You know that mission….”** ****

**  
**

**“Yeah, I know,” Chip said quickly.The mission for ONI that had nearly killed him; where ONI had nearly killed him.**

**  
**

**“Everyone helped me on that one, but it was the admiral who really pulled me through it.”Crane paused.“Like my own father would have, had he been around.”He got up and paced a few minutes before sitting down again.“I feel the same way I did when my dad died.And yet I can’t really believe it’s true.”**

**  
**

**“What if it is, Lee?” Chip asked, hating that he was even saying it.He had been on the sub longer than Lee and while he felt close to Nelson and thought he had understood the man as well as anyone, he had seen how the relationship between Lee and the admiral had developed beyond that of a commander and his subordinate.And now Lee had finally verbalized it.If Nelson were truly dead, how would Lee Crane deal with it?**

**  
**

**“I don’t know, Chip.All I do know is that I have to go and see the area for myself.”**

**  
**

**“I understand, Lee, but don’t take too long.”Chip stood up and gently clapped his hand on his friend’s shoulder.“The Gray Lady and the men need you.”**

**  
**

**Lee nodded.“I’ll keep you apprised.”**

**  
**

**“Good, and take one of the men,” Chip suggested.“In fact, I don’t think it would hurt to take one of the search and rescue members.”**

**  
**

**“Porter.”** ****

**  
**

**“Good man.”He knew he was bantering now.“Take Chief Sharkey, too.”**

**  
**

**“No,” Crane said.“He wants to go, but I think he should be here for the men.**

**  
**

**“You’re right, of course,” Chip conceded.“RJ will be good to have along.”He couldn’t think of anything else to say for a moment.Then he gazed deeply into Lee’s amber hued hazel eyes.“Lee, you know more than anything I want you to succeed.”**

**  
**

**“Yeah, I know, Chip.”** ****

**  
**

**“But if you don’t . . . find him, Lee, come back.”** ****

**  
**

**“I will.”** ****

**  
**

**There was nothing else to be said.Chip informed Porter of his mission and within the hour, the Flying Sub was launched.Soon she was in the air, winging north over Anchorage and heading toward Fairbanks.**

**  
**

**  
**

**=============================**

**  
**

**Aklark, Utaq and several others had been out on the ocean in the umiaks and he had harpooned a large beluga.Several other umiaks had converged to tow the carcass onto the shore and the messy but satisfying job of butchering the whale began.**

**  
**

**But for a few minutes, Aklark could only stare at the dead beast.When he was taking aim out in the boat, he had almost lost his opportunity.For a split second, he had seen in his mind a harpooned dart, the kind used for tagging.It was shot from a torpedo tube and that in a submarine.In his brief vision he had felt very comfortable in the craft and had sensed a kind of loss when the memory had dissipated.**

**  
**

**Coming back to the present, Aklark felt amazement as he stood watching the entire camp take part in the butchering that he had even retained the slight vignette from his hidden past.Aklark felt excitement that perhaps he might begin to remember.With that happy thought, he gathered his man’s knife and joined the chanting, happy throng.First the blubber was peeled away, cut in large blocks and then stacked.Much would be rendered for later use in cooking and in the oil lamps, but some would be cut into smaller strips for snacking on later.Aklark had not been able to bring himself to eat any, although out of politeness he had tried a tiny bite once.A large pot was being readied to make a stew that everyone would enjoy for dinner, heated with hoarded driftwood.**

**  
**

**The skeleton was being exposed as Aklark helped cut away the tongue.Suddenly he paused as another memory slid from the forgotten past.It was the inside of a whale.He saw others in scuba gear coming toward him.A diving bell, another person—a woman.They were trapped in the belly of a whale.Someone was calling out to him.What were they calling him—admiral?He was an admiral?But in the belly of a whale!It was incredible!**

**  
**

**“Aklark!” a voice called to him and the dream shut off as quickly as it had come, disappearing like smoke into the wispy tendrils of his mind.But like the other one, he retained the vision after he had come back to the present.**

**  
**

**Utaq was staring at him, calling his name.“Aklark, what is wrong?”Others were staring at him as well. **

**  
**

**“I . . . I remembered something,” he said, his voice shaky.His blue eyes held excitement.**

**  
**

**“You said something,” Utaq began.“About being inside a whale.”**

**  
**

**Aklark didn’t know he had said anything aloud.“I saw it,” he said.“There was a diving bell.I was in it and a huge whale swallowed it.There was a submarine and divers.But what was most incredible was actually being inside a whale.”Some of his words were of necessity in English, but the other Eskimos stared in amazement, obviously able to understand enough of what he had said.**

**  
**

**“That is truly amazing,” Utaq admitted.“Do you remember anything else?”**

**  
**

**Aklark shook his head.“No, but when I see something now, it doesn’t leave me like when I wake up from a dream.”**

**  
**

**The others were silent in their wonder.Then they resumed their work, wondering about this powerful emissary from the land of spirits.**

**  
**

**Before he returned to the carcass, Aklark asked Utaq, “In my memory I was called ‘admiral.’** ****

**  
**

**“But no name?”** ****

**  
**

**“No name.”Again Aklark wondered just how much his companion might know about him.But Utaq said nothing else and the white man resumed his work.**

**  
**

**That night he dreamed two dreams that merged into one horrifying vision.They were about two beings—a vengeful whale and a vengeful ghost.The whale had almost destroyed the huge submarine and the ghost had almost destroyed a—man!Someone on the submarine with him.Someone whose amber tinted brown eyes held trust in their depths that changed to astonishment and then fear when he saw the gun.Where did the gun come from?Aklark realized that it was his gun.It was in his hand.He was pointing it at the one who trusted him.It spoke and the fear in the hazel eyes turned to pain.“No!Lee, watch out!”**

**  
**

**Aklark jerked up in a sweat that had nothing to do with the proximity of bodies in the tent they were sharing that night during a brief storm.Amoroq, Utaq’s brother, and Utaq were by his side in an instant.**

**  
**

**“What is it?” Kotik, Amoroq’s wife joined them, her baby on her hip.Her dark eyes were large with fear.**

**  
**

**“Who is Lee?” Utaq asked.** ****

**  
**

**“Someone I work with—a friend,” he replied.But if he was a friend, then why would he shoot him?Was Lee dead now?Dead by his own hand?Was that why he was here?“On the submarine I saw before.”**

**  
**

**“But why were you shouting to this Lee?” Amoroq asked.**

**  
**

**“Something terrible was happening,” Aklark answered evasively.Was he here because he had killed someone?**

**  
**

**“Can you remember what it was?” Kotik asked.The baby took the opportunity to nurse and the only sounds were that of suckling and the slight wind rustling the skin tent covering.**

**  
**

**The ghost, Aklark thought.What did the ghost have to do with this?What had he done?“No, only that something terrible was happening,” he replied, left only with questions and a deep sense of guilt.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Utaq was hunting alone today.Aklark and Amoroq were out with the last of the hunters in umiaqs.Everyone knew it was only a matter of days before the ice would begin to break up in earnest and it would be too dangerous.Utaq had wanted to check out the trap lines he had set on the last hunt.Soon the fur bearing animals would be changing their fur color and they would be unsuitable, but even a few more furs would bring good trade.He heard Kayok growl softly and he gazed in the direction of the dog’s concern.He saw movement on the ice.Several men, but he saw no dogs, only snowmobiles.Why hadn’t anyone heard the noisy machines?Even at this distance from the camp, someone should have heard them.But then the people had very busy preparing for their move further south and inland.**

**  
**

**Even as he pondered, Utaq heard the machines start up and noisily drive away.When they were out of sight, he commanded the dogs to follow and within a short time he had reached the place where the men and machines had been.It appeared they had been there for at least a day.Tracks led toward the Eskimo camp and back again.There was also evidence that a tent had been erected.It was as though these strangers had been watching them and that made him uneasy.Were they looking for Aklark?If so and they were friends, why didn’t they just come and inquire?Somehow, though, he didn’t think of these intruders as friends.**

**  
**

**He continued to wander around the area, studying the ground carefully.He saw cigarette butts, little bits of litter, a small spot of oil, a small pile of coffee grounds.Then he saw something else.It was a tiny version of what Aklark carried around and wrote notes in.Opening it up, he saw cramped writing in a language he wasn’t familiar with.He put it in a pocket inside his parka.Maybe Aklark would know what it was.Walking a bit further in the direction they had gone, he saw something shiny.It was a lighter with a curious symbol on the outside.He wasn’t sure if that had any meaning either, but he put it in with the notebook.**

**  
**

**The dogs weren’t growling anymore, indicating that the strangers were well out of range, so he turned and headed back to the camp.**

**  
**

**  
**

**===============================**

**  
**

**When the Flying Sub broke the surface of the northern Pacific waters, she skipped once and then shot almost vertically into the gray skies.**

**  
**

**“Whoo-ee!” RJ Porter exclaimed, his back pressed into the padded seat. “That’s some roller coaster ride, Skipper!” he added after they had reached five thousand feet.**

**  
**

**Crane couldn’t help it, he laughed.“Wait till we get to Mt. McKinley.”Then he sobered quickly.“Let’s just hope that I read all the admiral’s notes correctly or there may be a search and rescue after us.”**

**  
**

**“The modifications on the new propulsion system, sir?” the seaman asked.The young man, the only African American on board the giant submarine, knew that Admiral Nelson had been working on this latest invention for some time.Captain Crane had worked with the admiral on it recently, but that he would try the modifications himself gave indication of his desperation.And now RJ was on that recently refitted machine.He swallowed his anxiety and said, “By the way, Skipper, thanks for asking me to come with you.”  
**

**“I wanted someone who not only has a good head on his shoulders, but also has training in search and rescue.Someone with a little more than just diving background.I know you did some rough terrain survival training.”**

**  
**

**“Yes, sir.Before sub school.”**

**  
**

**Crane nodded.“We may have to check out the crash site and I’ve been told it’s pretty rugged territory.”**

**  
**

**“Do you think he’s alive, sir?” RJ asked tentatively.**

**  
**

**There was a long silence.Porter had been witness to, as well as hearing about, the captain’s almost obsessive denial of Admiral Nelson’s probable death.He knew the two men were close friends and RJ began to wonder if he had gone too far with this question.**

**  
**

**“I don’t really know anymore, RJ,” Crane finally said, his voice filled with painful somberness.“I have tried to be optimistic but have also felt moments when the facts have told me otherwise.They have come more often lately and have been almost unbearable.”**

**  
**

**“The admiral is a good man.”** ****

**  
**

**“A very good man,” Crane agreed.**

**  
**

**“May I ask what’s in Fairbanks, Skipper?”** ****

**  
**

**“There is someone who was with the admiral before he went on his unscheduled plane ride.She was arrested in connection with the admiral’s….”Crane paused so long, Porter turned away from the mountainous vista before them to gaze at his companion.“The admiral’s disappearance,” the captain finally finished. **

**  
**

**During the skipper’s last secret mission with the ONI, RJ knew that Crane had been injected with a variety of psychosis inducing drugs.Scuttlebutt had said it was the admiral who had literally pulled the skipper out of it, not any Navy shrink.Porter didn’t know that for sure, but he did know that when Crane had come back to duty he and Nelson were even closer than they had been before, if that was possible.**

**  
**

**And now?With the probability that the admiral might be dead?He would just continue on this ride and see where it took him.He remembered the executive officer’s quick visit before he had left, asking him to take care of the skipper.It was as though he had been asked to watch over a fragile vase or something and it had made him uncomfortable.**

**  
**

**“It was my understanding that she was the person who arranged for the admiral’s excursion,” Crane added.**

**  
**

**“You think she set him up?”** ****

**  
**

**“I don’t know what to think.There has been so little information.”**

**  
**

**“Will they let you see her?”** ****

**  
**

**Crane laughed bitterly.“I think I can arrange that.”**

**  
**

**Rashard smiled.He believed his captain.“What do you want me to do, sir?”**

**  
**

**“Just back me for now.I want to see what this Dr. Machetanz has to say before I decide our next move.”**

**  
**

**RJ nodded and then did a double take.“She’s a doctor?”**

**  
**

**“She has a degree in environmental science as well as marine biology.She is also a leader in an organization opposed to anymore drilling on the slope.”**

**  
**

**“Oh,” was all Porter said.That would make her a very prime suspect since it had been well established that Admiral Nelson’s plane had been shot down.**

**  
**

**“Everyone seems to think she masterminded an assassination attempt, but it seems so . . . so convenient, I guess is the best word I can come up with.Maybe I’m just being too paranoid.”**

**  
**

**“You think maybe she’s a scapegoat?”** ****

**  
**

**“Good question, RJ,” Crane said thoughtfully.“But I think she may very well be.”He pondered a few minutes.“Everything just seems too . . . pat, too easily solved, as though they set out road maps telling us what happened.And since when did Animal Rights, Whole Planet or whomever start assassinating people, especially someone known for his pro-environmental projects?”**

**  
**

**“But the admiral has also worked on technological things, too; like the _Seaview_, herculite and vidphones,” Porter pointed out.**

**  
**

**“Indeed he has.There are times when I can’t figure out the crackpots and dictators of the world—and times when I only too well can.”**

**  
**

**Rashard could only nod.He had been on _Seaview_ much less than the skipper, but even so, he had seen the extremes of human behavior.He gazed surreptitiously at his commander and thought that he may not have totally recovered from his dealings at the hands of one such crackpot.It had been more evident since the admiral’s disappearance.RJ sighed softly.Such thoughts made him feel sad because he really liked this man beside him.He was the best skipper he had ever served under; the most fair and the one most dedicated to his crew.The admiral was the same way.**

**  
**

**So what if they did find that Nelson was truly dead?How would they deal with it?RJ had been told that the boat and her men had suffered through much and had not only come out on top but had bounced back for the next mission.Ski had told him of some missions that had never made it into the newspapers; missions that would have been unbelievable had he not served on the Gray Lady himself. **

**  
**

**The skipper took them higher as they continued north.Mountains passed below them, their peaks almost close enough to touch.**

**  
**

**“Denali, or Mt. McKinley, as it’s commonly called,” Crane said off-handedly.Astonishingly they quickly left the mountain behind.“Fairbanks, this is FS1, requesting clearance to land.”**

**  
**

**Apparently instructions were given, because the captain made a few course adjustments.Then he began the descent.With a flip of a switch, the engines changed tenor and their speed dropped.**

**  
**

**“It may be a bit rougher than a water landing, although I’ve heard rookies say the opposite,” Crane explained.“Done a lot more of the water landings.”**

**  
**

**RJ nodded.“Well, sir, after we return to the _Seaview_, I can tell you who I agree with.”**

**  
**

**The skipper laughed, and then focused all his attention on flying and landing.The landing gear lowered much more smoothly than on a larger jet.They came in faster and much less steeply, almost like gliding in, Porter thought.He had wondered how this vehicle maneuvered for a landing on the ground; not having real flaps to help and decided that the engines did most of the work.He didn’t have a great deal of time to ponder, though, because suddenly they were on the runway. It was a little bumpy, like a rough wave and he jerked forward when the engines reversed thrust, but all in all it was….**

**  
**

**“A landing we can walk away from, eh, RJ?” Crane asked as though reading his thoughts.He laughed lightly and then taxied to a hangar that appeared to be reserved for private jets.“Grab your parka.It’s a cold walk to the terminal,” the captain added.Quickly they were able to rent a jeep and find a motel room.Once there, Lee pulled off his flight jacket and pulled his dress khaki uniform out of its travel bag.**

**  
**

**“What is the plan now, Skipper?And what do you want me to do?” Porter asked, sensing something going down.Since they had arrived in Fairbanks, the captain seemed more focused and determined.Personally, he was glad to see it.**

**  
**

**“Well, RJ, I was thinking while you were getting ready to come with me, that these people seem to be a little reticent handing out information. If I come a bit casual hoping for someone to be kind enough to give me some information, then I most likely will get the same run-around I got in Anchorage.Or if I act desperate or bluster, they’ll be indulgent and condescending. However, if I come in representing ONI or some other important organization, then I might just get in and get information I need before they figure out anything.As to what you can do, I would like you to head to the smaller airport, the one the bush pilots use and find out what you can about that part of the admiral’s disappearance, about any other planes that might have been out that day.”**

**  
**

**Porter smiled.“Aye, aye, sir!”**

**  
**

**Within the hour, Crane was striding into the jail complex, an official looking briefcase under his arm.He stopped in front of a large desk and waited for the policeman to acknowledge him.The man looked up, saw the stern look on Crane’s face and gaped.“Officer,” Lee began, holding out his military ID.“I am here representing the Office of Naval Intelligence, Washington, and need to see one of your prisoners.”**

**  
**

**The man gazed at the ID and nodded.“Commander, I wasn’t told about anyone from Washington coming here.”He paused and tried to gather his thoughts.“Who is the prisoner, sir?”**

**  
**

**“Dr. Maria Machetanz,” Lee answered crisply.**

**  
**

**The policeman shook his head.“I’m sorry, but I haven’t been told by her attorney that anyone could see her.”**

**  
**

**Lee affected a cold, hard stare.He had anticipated this.He had tried to get in touch with the lawyer while in Anchorage.It was like dumping ballast through a straw.“Yes, the attorney who seems to be making himself very unavailable.Perhaps it would help if I told you that it’s also a matter of national security and I can’t be running all over the state of Alaska looking for a local lawyer.”He smiled coldly.“I can give you a number to call to verify the importance of my mission.”**

**  
**

**“Uh, yeah, Commander, sure.”Lee handed him a handwritten number and the officer, Lennock, the tag said, made the call.There was a pause while the call went through, a woman’s voice on the other end and Lee noticed Lennock’s eyes growing wider and wider.After a stammered question and several minutes of conversation from the other end, the officer slowly hung up.“Commander, I’ll have someone come and escort you to see the prisoner.”He called someone and then sat back and waited.“Uh, Commander Crane, is this about Admiral Nelson’s death?”**

**  
**

**Lee knew that he would have to find something appropriate to give to Linda when he got back to the Institute.She had done exactly what he had asked her to do and had done it well enough to make the officer think he had called the Pentagon.Lee had to work to keep the satisfied smile off his face.“Yes, it is, Officer.” **

**  
**

**A younger man arrived and led Lee back into the cellblock.Near the end of the corridor, he was let into a small room.“The prisoner will be brought in to see you, sir.I have been told that this visit will only be for five minutes.Then you will have to work through the lawyer.” **

**  
**

**Lee was irritated, and let it show, but he hoped he could get what he wanted in that short a time.“For your sakes, Officer, I hope I get the information that I need.” **

**  
**

**“Yes, sir.”The man retreated and Lee was left to his own thoughts for a few minutes.The door opened again and a young Eskimo woman was escorted in.The officer shut the door and stood watching them.**

**  
**

**Lee stood up and offered the young woman the other seat.Then he turned to the jailer.“I think that national security doesn’t require witnesses.Should I get your commander or will you leave us in peace for the requisite five minutes?”**

**  
**

**“Uh, oh, sorry, sir, just procedure when anyone other than the defendant’s lawyer is here.”He left quickly.**

**  
**

**Lee sighed and sat down.“We don’t have much time, Dr. Machetanz.I need some information.”**

**  
**

**“Who are you?”** ****

**  
**

**“Captain Lee Crane.I am a very close associate of Admiral Nelson’s.”**

**  
**

**“Oh.I’m so sorry,” she began, her eyes filling with tears.**

**  
**

**“Don’t be yet.First of all, they are only giving me five minutes, so we have to cut to the chase.Write down who else knew about the admiral’s excursion.And just why was it so important for you to get Admiral Nelson to take this little trip?”He handed her a pencil and piece of paper.She wrote furiously and then handed it back.**

**  
**

**“I arranged for Simkiss to coax your admiral to land and see some Eskimos who would be effected by the new pipelines.Talk to them.Give him more first hand knowledge of both sides of the situation.That was all, nothing more.I respected his position and his influence and I just wanted his advice on how to deal with the present environmental dilemma.I am no terrorist, Captain.”**

**  
**

**“I figure that, or I wouldn’t be here talking with you.”Lee skimmed over the names.There were ten of them.“How many of these people did you know intimately enough to vouch for?”**

**  
**

**She took the pencil and marked eight of the names.“There was one who was fairly new to the scene, but came recommended as a staunch environmentalist.I thought it kind of strange, though, that he constantly was reaching for his cigarettes.”Maria snorted.“Most of the members of the group up here don’t smoke.Pollution, you know.”**

**  
**

**“I know, but then the admiral has been dealing with that issue, too,” Lee said with a smile.Then he sobered quickly.“Which one?”**

**  
**

**“Gerald Whitley, from University of Idaho.He’d been very instrumental in keeping a logging operation from clear-cutting near the Salmon River a few years back.He seemed a bit impatient with the rest of us, though and very militant.I didn’t remember hearing that he used militaristic methods down in the lower forty-eight.”**

**  
**

**“Now, time is short.Just where was the admiral supposed to land and investigate.Any specific place?”**

**  
**

**“Not far from where he was shot down, actually.My cousin was supposed to meet the admiral and take him to visit with his people.”**

**  
**

**Lee looked surprised.“I hadn’t heard that one before.”He pulled out a map of Alaska.“Where was the place supposed to be?”**

**  
**

**Maria bent over it and studied it.“They would be somewhere in this general vicinity,” she said, running her finger over a three hundred mile strip.**

**  
**

**“Hmm, not a small track, but I think I could find a village there without too much trouble,” Lee said thoughtfully.** ****

**  
**

**“They would be by the coast before the ice breaks up, then they’ll move inland and south,” Maria added.**

**  
**

**The door opened.“Doctor, I thank you for your information.This will be of great help to the Pentagon,” Lee said seriously.**

**  
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**Maria’s eyes widened a bit, then she, too, stood up.“You are looking for Utaq.”**

**  
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**Lee nodded and watched as she was led out.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Aklark sat on the edge of the ice pack staring out into the darkness.The cold dawn was still an hour away.He had brought a whale oil lantern with him when he had left the camp, but it was behind him now.The light wasn’t enough to do more than keep him from stumbling in the dark and right now, he was just thinking anyway.He could hear the distant cracking and groaning of heaving, breaking ice.There would be no more excursions for seals or whales for a while.Now the group would move more inland, hunt caribou and musk oxen.**

**  
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**His mind wasn’t on that next phase, however.He was thinking of all the flashing memories that kept revealing but not revealing themselves to him.They were tantalizing bits that only showed him enough to ache for more.**

**  
**

**“The mornings on the ice are beautiful,” Utaq said, approaching from behind.Aklark’s blue eyes were on him now, studying him.The little bit of light revealed that the gaze was not the curious, clinical study of a scientist, but the study of a friend trying to understand another friend—and what was going on around him.Utaq saw turmoil in this white man he had come to respect.He now understood why his cousin, Maria had wanted Admiral Nelson to spend a little time with him and his people.He still felt this man had been sent to his people from the spirits, but now he saw it wasn’t just to bring luck to the hunters.Aklark’s presence had provided a healing to a people, including himself, who had only seen one side of white men.Aklark had shown them so much in the short time he had been among them.Would the effect have been the same if Aklark had come as Admiral Harriman Nelson?Somehow, he thought so, but probably not to the same extent, or as powerfully.**

**  
**

**Now, though?Aklark’s mind was showing him images of his past.It was making him restless to return to his own world.Would he forget what he had learned among the Eskimo?Utaq believed that answer to be a resounding no.Aklark was a man who learned, retained and gained wisdom from all his experiences.He had seen it when he was asking questions of the women as they went about their daily tasks, or when he was showing the children the ways that various objects rose or sank in the icy waters.Utaq remembered Aklark describing one night how a person could navigate using the positions of the stars.His hands were very expressive as though he was using an instrument to help in his figuring.Suddenly he had stopped and stared at the mittened hands as though what he was saying had suddenly stopped coming to his remembrance.Then he had sighed and simply lay back on the hard ground watching the brilliant stars above their heads.**

**  
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**Aklark had said nothing all this time, but his eyes told Utaq that the white man knew he had something to tell him.Somehow, the hunter believed that Aklark had always suspected he might know something he wasn’t telling.**

**  
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**“Yes, they are.Stunningly beautiful,” Aklark agreed.“But I now see other mornings in other places.They are places where I am needed as well.”**

**  
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**Utaq nodded.** ****

**  
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**“Your people don’t need me for their luck,” Aklark continued softly.“Tell me what you know about me.”**

**  
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**The request wasn’t like an order, but Utaq felt its power nonetheless.“I only suspected your name and how I was to meet you.”**

**  
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**Aklark still gazed at him, the blue eyes eager and patient now, not desperate, as they had been at the beginning.“Do you only suspect now?”**

**  
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**Utaq shook his head.“No, I believe I am sure.”**

**  
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**“A name is a very good beginning, Utaq.Please, who am I?”**

**  
**

**“Your name is Admiral Harriman Nelson,” Utaq replied.“But do not forget, there is a part of you who is named Aklark, the great brown bear.”**

**  
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**Aklark laughed softly.“I was right when I remembered being called admiral.Harriman Nelson.”He seemed to be tasting, savoring the sound of his own name.**

**  
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**“It sounds very dignified as is your Eskimo name,” Utaq ventured.**

**  
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**Aklark nodded.“Thank you.I hope I have worn both of them well.What else can you tell me?Why was I up here anyway?”**

**  
**

**“I know very little.Only that you were in Alaska for some kind of conference.My cousin asked me to meet you and show you the lands of my people.”**

**  
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**There was relief.If he was up here for some kind of conference, then he wasn’t here because of something bad he had done.Still, he wondered about the horrible dream he had where he had shot the one that had seemed a friend.“Why?”**

**  
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**“That I do not know.But I believe it had to do with the pipelines that have been built not too far away.”**

**  
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**Aklark sighed and gazed out at the water and ice again.Time passed with only the cracking of ice to show any passage at all.Lights glittered in the sky. The stars, the soft wisps of the northern lights. “It’s beautiful here,” he finally said.**

**  
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**“More beautiful than the memories that have come to you?” Utaq asked.**

**  
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**“Some of the memories have been . . . hard,” he began, remembering.“But really—no, just a different kind of beauty.But I will need to go back to that life.I feel there are duties, things I need to do.”Things he had to find out.**

**  
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**Utaq smiled in the waning darkness.Aklark had been among them much longer than he had thought possible.His own people must have thought him dead.But his Anglo friend was right.The time had come for him to go to the other direction the spirits directed.“I will miss you, Aklark—Admiral.”**

**  
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**“Please, continue to call me by the name you gave me.”** ****

**  
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**Utaq chuckled softly.“Very well.I like your InupiaQ name anyway.”**

**  
**

**“How will I be able to make contact with any government authorities?”** ****

**  
**

**“I will be traveling with furs and artifacts shortly after we get to our transition campsite.There will be phone service at the outpost.Perhaps another few days.Amoroq wants to make one more hunt in the area and then we will head inland.”**

**  
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**“Good.That’s soon enough.”**

**  
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**The two men continued to listen to the ice groan and creak and though the cold seeped into his bones, Aklark was able to ignore it as he contemplated.Finally, he said, “Your cousin wanted me to see things here through your eyes.”**

**  
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**Utaq gazed at his companion in surprise.He had thought the same thing by her words.He said as much.“You will have to ask her when you return to your own people.”They sat there in congenial silence for a while longer.“By the way, I found this yesterday.I was going to ask if you could understand the language in this notebook.”Utaq pulled out the little notebook and handed it to Aklark.**

**  
**

**Holding it to the light of the dim lantern, the admiral opened it and then almost dropped it in shock.“Where . . . where did you get this?”Aklark’s voice almost shook, so great was his consternation.**

**  
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**“It was several miles from the village where some men had camped for at least one night.I think they were watching us,” Utaq replied.“Do you understand the words?”**

**  
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**“Yes, I understand the language, but can’t put a name to it.”He gazed at it for a few more minutes.“They were looking for me, trying to determine if I was truly dead as they had planned.They didn’t see anyone resembling me in the village and assumed that I wasn’t here.”He looked at Utaq.“There are many things I don’t remember, but I do know that these people are my enemies and very deadly.I’m glad they didn’t recognize me.For your people’s sake.”_The People’s Republic_, he thought, putting name to his feelings of anxiety.Utaq handed him the lighter.Aklark recognized the symbol on this, too.“Enemies,” was all he said.**

**  
**

**“We will have to watch carefully from now on,” Utaq said gravely.**

**  
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**============================**

**  
**

**Crane’s next destination was the police station, which, thankfully, was in a building separate from the jail.He was allowed to look at and verify the few belongings that had been found.There had been the admiral’s wallet with its ID and credit cards.The wallet had been chewed on and the contents strewn around, but was still easily identified.Some of it had been difficult, though, and Lee had wondered if, indeed, he was on a wild goose chase.He had shaken that off and felt the determination that had marked his whole philosophy of the situation from the first day he had heard the news.Somehow he couldn’t help but feel that somewhere out there, the admiral was waiting.**

**  
**

**When he got back to the motel, Lee sighed, tired but strangely satisfied.He had finally been proactive, rather than simply responding to events that had been thrown at him.It had been a frustrating three weeks.He pulled out the mobile phone that the admiral had been working on and called the Institute.This was the best thing they had to a secure line and he was grateful to have it, even if it didn’t have a long battery life.**

**  
**

**“Lee?Did you find out anything?” Angie asked, almost frantically.He remembered with a twinge of guilt that he hadn’t contacted anyone since he had left _Seaview _and he hadn’t contacted the Institute for longer than that.**

**  
**

**“Yes, a couple of things.The local law enforcement people showed me some of the admiral’s belongings they recovered at the crash site.”**

**  
**

**“Oh.”**

**“Doesn’t mean a thing, Angie.They haven’t been able to positively identify all the bones, but more importantly, I might have something that could be useful.I want you to dig into the background of a Gerald Whitley, an environmentalist from the University of Idaho.I think he may be the person responsible for the admiral’s disappearance.I have nine other names I want you to check on, too.I also found out who the admiral was supposed to meet and what he was supposed to do up there.”**

**“I already found out what he was supposed to do up there, too, Lee.The FBI sent me some information since the last time I talked to you,” Angie told him.“He was supposed to have met some of the indigenous people in the area.”**

**  
**

**“Well, I got a little more than that.I was finally able to get in to meet the young woman accused of the admiral’s . . . murder and I don’t think she had anything to do with it.I think she was setup by someone else.I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the old People’s Republic bigwigs used the situation to get rid of their number one thorn in the side.”**

**  
**

**“Lee, I’m not even going to ask how you managed that little feat.Last I had heard the lawyer wasn’t letting anyone see her unless he was with her.But your theory about the People’s Republic could very well be right.If that’s the case, then you need to be careful, too.”**

**  
**

**“I will.Chip is taking _Seaview_ back to the Institute, by the way.And I’m going up to the area Machetanz indicated in the Flying Sub tomorrow to find the contact person.”**

**  
**

**“They keep telling me the spring storms are particularly bad this year, especially up north.Please watch for those and be careful.”Angie sounded worried.**

**  
**

**“I will, Angie.I’m going to leave the phone with Seaman Porter.Contact him with the information you find so he can take it to the local police if necessary.At the very least, I don’t want a young woman wrongly accused of the admiral’s disappearance.”**

**  
**

**“You’re going out in the Flying Sub alone?” she asked, horror struck.**

**  
**

**“Yes, I’m going alone,” Crane answered in a tone that indicated he wasn’t interested in debating the point.“I need Porter here.When you give him the information you find, he’s going to hire a bush pilot and join me.”**

**  
**

**Angie sighed.“All right, Lee.Please be careful.I don’t think I could stand anything happening to you, too.”**

**  
**

**He was touched by her concern.“Thanks, Angie.And I will.”He clicked the connection off and set the phone down.**

**  
**

**Porter showed up at their motel an hour after Crane.“Any success, sir?”**

**  
**

**“Yes, I think so,” Lee said and then gave an overview of his experiences.“What did you find out?”**

**  
**

**“Well, Skipper.One of the bush pilots told me that someone else had gone out in the same vicinity several hours before the admiral, but that the storm had caused him to fly to another airport until it blew over.Problem is, the pilot never returned to Fairbanks and the other pilots don’t know where he is.”**

**  
**

**“How convenient,” Crane muttered, rubbing his chin.**

**  
**

**“Skipper, do you think we’ll find this Utaq?”**

**  
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**“Don’t know, but I want you should stay here and wait for information.I think this Whitley sounds fishy and the Institute is going to find out some very interesting things about him.Then you can come overland with a reputable bush pilot and meet me at the village.I’ll leave you my Institute expense card.”**

**  
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**“I’ll do my best, sir.”** ****

**  
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**“I know you will, RJ,” came the confident answer.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Aklark trotted easily along side Utaq’s sled.He was amazed at how effortlessly he could do that now.Of course, the dogs were pulling a very heavily laden sled and therefore not running as fast.They were now in a race against the next storm, as well as further thawing.While there was still plenty of snow pack, the temperatures were now high enough to melt pockets of snow and ice into small slushy patches that slowed the dogs down even more.**

**  
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**“Early spring,” Utaq grunted, “But the winter fights back.”** ****

**  
**

**“Will it be as bad as the one when you found me?” Aklark/Nelson asked.While still savoring the sound, the feel of his name, the memories seemed slow in coming.He continued trotting along, hearing the other men’s teams similarly laden, following.He knew he worked close to the sea.Indeed, he pictured a monstrous submarine, but could not recall its name.He continued to see Lee, as well as a blonde haired man and others, but no more names came.**

**  
**

**His reverie was suddenly interrupted by a sound that was at once familiar to him, but foreign to this landscape.It was familiar, but he realized in alarm that something was wrong.Aklark stopped and stared toward the southeast, squinting to get a better look at the rapidly approaching object.A startlingly loud boom that had all of the hunting party standing and staring in shock accompanied the faltering, whining sound.The men muttered in alarm and puzzlement.**

**  
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**A bright yellow, almost saucer-like shape zipped overhead, probably only a couple of hundred feet above them.The mutter grew louder as the men realized that the object was heading in the direction of the village’s most recent encampment.**

**  
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**“It’s in trouble,” Nelson said out loud in English._The Flying Sub’s in trouble_, he thought almost simultaneously, then blinked in surprise when he realized he was very familiar with that particular jet.**

**  
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**“Do you know what that is?” Utaq asked, his hand lightly touching his friend’s arm. **

**  
**

**Nelson nodded, “Yes, it’s called the Flying Sub.It is a submersible jet aircraft.And it’s in trouble.”**

**  
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**“It is heading toward our camp,” Utaq shot back.**

**  
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**“At that trajectory and speed it would be able to easily avoid the camp, even in trouble like it is,” Harriman explained.“But we do need to get back quickly.If it’s a crash landing….”**

**  
**

**The wisdom of that statement was easily apparent to all and the teams were soon on their way, a renewed urgency in their pace.**

**  
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**=====================================**

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**The next morning, Porter drove Crane to the airport.Within minutes Lee was in the air flying to the northwest toward the coast.The controls were operating light to the touch and Crane was pleased.With the new modifications, he would be in the area in question well within the hour.Landing would be rough if he wasn’t able to make a water landing, but he knew that the ground flattened out in that area of the tundra and the landing gear should be able to handle it.Even now, Lee could see the mountains softening to hills and the forests becoming more and more sporadic.He checked the maps and then dipped for a closer look at the land.If he had figured right, the Flying Sub was passing right over the area where the admiral had been shot down.There was little to see, though.Snowstorms had served to hide evidence and he was going too fast anyway.**

**  
**

**As he continued speeding toward the coast, he checked the gauges and frowned.The fuel consumption was still too high, but he should be all right getting there using the new propulsion system and getting back using the old system.He was close to the coast already anyway.It was then that he felt something.Lee wasn’t sure what it was, but it caused the Flying Sub to buck and then whine.He powered off the experimental system and waited for the old one to kick in.It didn’t and there was a low boom as the craft slowed to below the speed of sound.With extreme effort, Crane worked the emergency planes and brought her nose up enough to glide on an even level.**

**  
**

**Scanning the horizon, Lee noticed the coastline and then saw all the floating chunks of ice.In areas, the ice had buckled and heaved until it looked more like an accordion than a regular beach.The Flying Sub needed open water, but with no power he wouldn’t be able to make it to shore after he had landed that far out.There was an emergency survival pack, but the wet suit available was not meant for Arctic temperatures.One thing at a time, he admonished himself.He had once landed on a shallow river, for crying out loud.Then he saw it.There was a flat area, a beach that seemed relatively smooth and long enough for him to land on, running just inside the tossed up piles of ice.He saw a small village just beyond.Dr. Machetanz had nailed it perfectly and Lee was going to land almost in their backyard.**

**  
**

**Lee worked the landing gear manually and was happy to note that it engaged.Fighting the bucking craft, Lee brought it lower and lower, closer to the ground.Easy and slow.Almost too slow.Bring the nose back up.Sweat beaded his forehead, rolled down the side of his face.Nose up, let the outside air slow him.The flat beach wouldn’t last forever.He was only feet above the ground now, dropping closer and closer.Still fighting the controls, his nose only barely up enough to prevent a deadly nosedive; he touched down, all three wheels making contact with the surface simultaneously.**

**  
**

**Immediately the ground gave way beneath the beleaguered craft, heaving like some bucking bronco.This wasn’t solid ground; this was more of the spring melt ice!It was strong enough, most likely for men to stand on in places but certainly not strong enough for the weight of the Flying Sub.The landing gear snapped and the craft slid for a short distance.But with no power, there was nothing for the poor battered bird to do except settle back and founder.And Crane realized that he couldn’t be caught underwater here, he had to get out while the Flying Sub was still floating above the ice.She could be salvaged later.He launched the marker buoy in case she sank and the light anchor to keep drift to a minimum in case she didn’t.**

**  
**

**Unbuckling his harness, Lee dashed toward the ladder and undogged the top hatch.Sleet-like water droplets pelted into his face.Icy wind bit even through his heavy flight jacket.He climbed quickly and made sure the hatch was sealed behind him.That would protect the systems inside and also make salvage easier.Ice was already forming on the hull, making any kind of movement treacherous.He managed to keep his footing enough to leap to the solid ice.Except that wasn’t solid either.The ice he landed on was slippery and had broken apart at the impact of the Flying Sub.Crane figured it had been too much to ask that it would have remained solid with the impact of the submersible.He fell to his knees, grasping at the edges of the ice, only barely managing to avoid slipping into the sea.**

**  
**

**The frigid water slapped at him as the ice bucked.Lee lost his grip as he was trying to leap to another, larger ice slab, and slipped underwater.The icy water took his breath away; the cold added to his desperation.It wasn’t far to the bottom and he pushed back up with his feet.He knew it wasn’t far to shore, but the ice was the main obstacle.The newly broken chunks banged against him, threatening to batter him into unconsciousness.He finally found a small space between blocks of ice and surfaced, gasping and sucking in as much air as his half-frozen body would allow.Sinking below the ice again, Crane shucked off his flight jacket—its weight was pulling him down.**

**  
**

**The frigid water was sapping him, taking his strength and stamina away at an incredible rate.Soon—he had to get there soon.Another break in the broken ice, another breath.Then Crane felt something and finally realized it was his feet hitting the bottom.By now it was almost impossible to move, another break in the ice and a desperate surge of adrenalin and he was able to scramble up and out of the water.His hands and feet; his whole body felt like the ice upon which he lay.He was shivering violently when he first pulled himself out, but that soon stopped.Remotely, Lee knew he was slipping into acute hypothermia and was only surprised that he hadn’t shut down from the first moment he hit the water.His clothes were already stiff.It had to be only by virtue of the fact that the air was above freezing that they hadn’t totally frozen.It was getting harder and harder to breathe.He couldn’t stand and could barely even move.Finally, the world dimmed and flickered out.__**

** **

** _  
_ **

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**==================================**

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**  
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**Like most of the others, Kotik heard the booming sound and looked up into the sky to the south.She watched in alarm as the yellow aircraft appeared at the horizon and then came down toward the ice bench between their village and the heaving ice floes.And she knew the outcome.The pilot was not from here or he would have known, too.But perhaps such a strange airplane was able to do the impossible.She watched as, all too soon, the bright yellow craft touched the ice and then what she had expected happened.It broke through, cracking the ice like a loud rifle shot.The cracking echoed as the ice broke apart and buckled.Someone came out of the top of the strange plane.It was a Gus'k'ikwáan, a white man.He took the time to close the door to his strange machine and then he tried to walk on the breaking ice.Was this one of the ones that Utaq had warned about?Was this someone coming after Aklark?If so, the Gods had seen fit to thwart him in his efforts.**

**  
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**Still, Kotik could not ignore the man’s immediate dilemma, enemy or not.She turned to the others.“Come, if he makes it to the shore, he will need to be warmed.My house.Get furs and blankets ready.Be ready to warm him.”The women burst into action, some running toward the tents.She and several others rushed as close to the edge of the ocean as they dared and waited.They were not so foolish as to go out into the waters as this one had.**

**  
**

**“Should we bring out the umiak?” a girl asked.Pialayok, swift of foot, but slow of thought.**

**  
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**“Of course not,” Kotik replied tersely.“The broken ice would cave in the sides and we would all be floundering around out there like the foolish white man.God will have to want him to travel through the ocean to us and then we can help him.”She saw him come up for air between the blocks of ice, and she began to mentally encourage him.There was something that told her this was no enemy, but only time would tell.The stranger was finally close enough to the shore that he could stand up and wade in, but by that time he was too overcome by the cold to do more than pull himself up on the last slab of ice.It was enough, though.“Come, we can get him without risking falling in the water.”She and the other women scrambled to the edge of the ocean and she and Tujok climbed onto the slab of ice and grabbed at the unconscious man.They dragged him to the solid ground and she beckoned Pialayok and another to help her drag the dark-haired man to her tent.**

**  
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**There they quickly undressed him, rubbing him briskly in a large fur until he was mostly dry and then covered him in several dry furs.She pulled down one of Amoroq’s spare rifles and handed it to Tujok.“In case he is an enemy, we will have this when he recovers.”Miortok began fussing in the corner and Kotik pulled off her outer clothing.She then pulled off her inner garments, motioning to Pialoyok to do the same.Finally she pulled the baby from his carrier.Holding Miortok close to her side to nurse, she slipped under the covers to lie next to the unconscious man.He was cold, but had not begun shivering yet.Pialoyok slipped under the skins on the other side and while the baby nursed, they let their body heat warm the white man.Throughout it all, the Gus'k'ikwáan remained unresponsive.**

**  
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**Miortok nursed noisily as she shivered from the cold of the man next to her, contrasting to the warmth of the baby at her breast.Still the man didn’t move.There was no shivering, nothing but the noise of the baby and their combined breathing, his much softer and shallower than it should be.After some time, he coughed and gasped and began to shiver violently.Even as she shivered, Kotik smiled.It appeared that he might just come back to life after all.The sea would not win this time.**

**  
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**“Tujok, it is your turn,” Kotik said, crawling out from under the furs. Belatedly, she noticed that one of the furs was Aklark’s bearskin, newly tanned.It was right that the courage and skill of one Gus'k'ikwáan would help save another.As she put Miortok into his soft furry baby garments, Tujok and another woman took her and Pialoyok’s places.She quickly dressed, reveling in the warmth of her own clothes. The gun lay by her feet.**

**  
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**After a while, the man’s shivering slowly subsided.Kotik nodded in satisfaction.He was a hardy one and probably would soon wake up.She warned the two women that most white men do not understand the customs of her people and very likely this one wouldn’t either.They simply laughed from under the furs.**

**  
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**Suddenly the man groaned and rolled over, not really waking up, then he sighed and breathed more deeply.He slept normally for a while.Tujok reported that he would soon be warm enough to not need their help anymore.It was then he began to wake up in earnest, comprehend where he was and who was under the covers with him.“What the hell?” he cried in surprise.His head popped above the furs and he looked wildly around the tent.Kotik gazed thoughtfully at him and he at her.He seemed to realize a little of what was going on and calmed down.**

**  
**

**“_Qanuq itpich?” _Kotik greeted him. “Hello, how are you?”**

**  
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**“Uh,” he began nervously.His voice, although still under the effects of the cold, was low and mellow.“I think I’m warm enough now.” **

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**Kotik laughed and told the two women it was all right to leave the man now.She said something else about ignorant white men that had Tujok giggling as she slipped into her clothes.Hopefully, that would serve to temper the women’s indignation.How was he to know that it was very rude to refuse such hospitality, especially when it was offered to save his life?He shivered as he lost the extra heat and rolled up in the coverings as the other women dressed and left.Soon, Kotik realized that he had fallen asleep as had Miortok.**


	10. Chapter 10

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**As Utaq’s hunting party approached the shoreline camp late in the day, dark clouds that had been hovering low, finally unleashed what they carried.Snow fell in huge flakes at first, drifting lazily down and coating the dirty layers that had fallen and packed before.Then the wind arrived and blew the snow in great anguished shrieks that made talk nearly impossible.**

**  
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**The meat was quickly distributed among the hunting party’s families.The dogs were bedded down and fed, and then everyone headed for his own dwelling.When Utaq and Nelson ducked into their house, an older woman was waiting for them.She had put on a small pot of savory caribou stew and there were two blubber lamps lit, their flames dancing merrily.Both men reveled in the relative warmth of the tent and the smell of cooking meat that made their stomachs rumble.**

**  
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**“Many thanks, _Aanaruaba_,” Nelson said to the old woman, using the term ‘grandmother’ or ‘great aunt’ that was given as a term of respect for all older women.**

**  
** ****  


**“You are welcome, Aklark, but I am here for more than just making Utaq’s house warm,” she said with a dry laugh.“And be cautious of who you are calling aanaruaba.I am not that much older than you, _Taataruaba_.”**

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**Nelson blushed and chuckled.“My apologies, I only meant respect.”**

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**“I know,” the woman said with a merry twinkle in her eye.“As do I.”**

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**“You said you had another reason for being here?” Utaq prompted.**

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**“Yes, there is a white man in Kotik’s house.He has been somewhat obnoxious when he has been awake.Thankfully, he has been asleep most of the time since his rescue.”**

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**“What?” Utaq began, incredulous at there being another white man in the camp, and then he thought.Aklark’s yellow jet; his Flying Sub, as he called it.**

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**The old woman, Mirok, nodded.“He came in a strange and marvelous machine.”Then she smirked.“But first he sank the strange plane and then he managed to fall into the ocean as he came ashore on the ice. Now that he is recovering, he insults the young women who brought him back to life.”**

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**Knowing what that meant, Utaq began laughing.“And did the women approve of him?”**

**  
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**Mirok laughed with him.“For a white man, he was not too bad, but he was too tall.”**

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**Nelson had been listening to the conversation with increased excitement.“This machine—was it yellow?A jet?”The last was the English word.**

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**“Yes,” Mirok said.“If not for the storm, you might be able to see it from here, Aklark.”**

**  
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**The pilot had come that close?That close and then crashed.Who was the pilot?Was it one of the men he kept seeing in his brief remembering dreams?And if the Flying Sub had come here, would the giant submarine be close behind, Nelson asked himself? **

**  
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**“You are remembering,” the old woman added when she saw the concentration on his face.**

**  
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**“Yes.Yes, a little.”Never enough, he thought.Nevertheless, he was excited.Someone who most likely knew him was in the camp.**

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**Mirok smiled.“When you remember all, do not forget us.”**

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**Nelson shook his head.“I won’t.But please, can you describe the man?”**

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**“No, not really.I have not been to Kotik’s tent.But when he was pulled off the ice, I could see he had dark hair and was tall and thin.”She gazed thoughtfully at him.“You think this is someone you know.Or someone who knows you.”**

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**“Yes,” Nelson answered excitedly.It sounded like the man in his dreams.The one he had shot.If so….**

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**“Come then.The man has called for you, Utaq, when he has been awake, but more often for someone called admiral.”**

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**Nelson could feel his hands trembling and noticed Utaq’s gaze on him.“That is my . . . status.Yes, I would like to see him.”**

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**The snow was falling harder now, much like the snow that he had remembered right after his encounter with the bear.It was thick enough that even the outlines of the dwellings in the hunting camp were obscured.Nelson stayed close behind the old woman, Utaq by his side.She ducked through the canvas doorway and Nelson heard a voice calling him.He recognized it and thrilled at that recognition.Finally, after all this time.**

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**He followed the old woman.Amoroq was sitting on one side of the tent.Kotik pointed to someone huddled beneath several layers of furs.The voice was softer now and Nelson crept closer to the still form.The man was curled inside and almost indiscernible, but the admiral could see the short black hair.Again he felt the thrill of relief.If this was Lee, then what he had seen in the dream had to have been false; or rather, Lee had recovered.And with that realization came more memories, some clear, most of them disjointed, but making more sense.Lee moaned and then rolled over, sticking his head out from under the covers and opening his eyes.**

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**Recognition gleamed in the dark hazel eyes and Lee jerked upright in shock, then realized where he was and what condition of dress he was in, pulled the blankets closer to his body.Nelson noticed he was still shivering.“Admiral!You’re still alive!Thank God, you’re alive!”**

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**Harriman nodded, gazing hungrily at his link to the past and then could only say, “You are, too.”** ****

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**Lee’s joy and amazement showed some puzzlement.“Me?”**

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**“Yes, Lee,” Nelson began, sitting closer to his captain, friend, protégé. For he knew that Lee Crane was all of the above without knowing exactly why.“The only memory I had of you for the past couple of weeks was of me shooting you.”**

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**“Only . . . memory?You mean….?”**

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**Nelson nodded again.“A great deal has returned, but not everything.Not most.”**

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**“What do you remember first?” Lee asked, his concern evident on his face.The others in this cramped tent were temporarily forgotten.**

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**“Smell of destruction, a bear, pain and cold,” Harriman replied.**

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**“Your plane was shot down,” Lee replied.He looked around and finally saw the others.“Utaq?” he asked the man sitting nearby.**

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**“Yes.”** ****

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**“You were to meet the admiral,” Lee continued.**

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**“Yes, I was, when the pilot, Roger Simkiss landed.I had been asked to let the admiral see the people this project would impact and then come to his own conclusions.It was a good thing Maria found me at the outpost or I would have had no idea who Aklark, or rather Admiral Nelson was when he walked into the forest with the bear’s skin wrapped around him.Not that it would have mattered.I would have helped him anyway, and I would have still seen his arrival as something of an omen.”He paused and smiled softly.“My cousin seemed confident that the admiral could come up with something that would be mutually beneficial to all interests.The spirits wanted it done in a way somewhat different than anyone had planned.”Utaq shrugged.**

**  
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**“Or some enemy did,” Crane said sardonically.“It would seem,” he added as he gazed back at the admiral, “that someone tried to use this to attempt an assassination of you, sir.”**

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**“Yes, the People’s Republic,” Nelson replied.At Lee’s puzzled look, he sighed.“I’ll explain later, when you feel a bit better.”**

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**Kotik handed Crane a cup with something warm in it.“Thank you.And my thanks to what all of you did to save me.”She nodded and ladled some of the warm liquid into cups for the others.At first all Lee did was hold his against his cheeks and sigh lustily at its warmth.**

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**“From what I have been told, you would be feeling better if you had allowed the women to stay under the blankets with you a while longer,” Utaq said with a smile.The admiral chuckled.**

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**Lee blushed as Kotik also smiled at the hunter’s joke.She said nothing, though, and he hid his embarrassment by taking a drink of the concoction.It was surprisingly good and he complimented the woman.She only nodded and reached for her baby, who had begun to fuss.**

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**They continued to talk during supper, a little about the admiral’s adventures, but mostly about the events of Nelson’s dream about him.While it was painful to both men, it gave rest to the admiral’s feelings of guilt.When Crane’s clothes were finally dry, he quickly pulled them on and came out from under his fur cocoon.Amoroq handed him a parka to replace his lost flight jacket and Lee accompanied the admiral and Utaq to the hunter’s tent as the storm raged around them.He was shivering violently by the time they reached it and Nelson wrapped him in the bearskin that he had brought with him.**

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**“I’m not . . . usually this . . . cold-blooded,” Lee complained.**

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**“You don’t usually take a swim in near freezing oceans without protective gear either, do you?” Utaq asked with a wry smile.“We will sleep soon and you will sleep between us.”**

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**Crane looked sharply at the Eskimo.**

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**“No, not naked . . .”Then Utaq stopped suddenly.“I know you have Naval rank, but neither of you have told me what it is,” he added.**

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**“Sorry.I am Commander Lee Crane, captain of the admiral’s submarine.”**

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**“I am glad you are here and in one piece,” Utaq said with a slight smile.“You must tell us how you figured out where we were.”He noticed the captain’s increasing difficulty in staying awake.“But after we get some rest.”**

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**Crane nodded and looked around.“Where do I sleep?”**

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**“Anywhere there’s a space.”** ****

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**“Good,” Lee said and promptly rolled himself in the bearskin and lay down.He was almost instantly asleep.**

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**“Must be the hypothermia,” Nelson said with a wry smile.“I somehow don’t remember him sleeping that well before.”Aklark threw another blanket on the sleeping man, one that was large enough for all three of them to crawl under.**

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**“The weather does it, too, Aklark,” Utaq said, lying down next to Crane.Nelson suddenly found himself yawning and followed suit.Soon all three were sleeping through the howling of the storm.**

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**As soon as the storm had blown itself out, they set out with Utaq to the nearest coastal town, where Crane happily contacted Chip with the good news.He was unduly satisfied at the shouts he heard in the background of the radio shack.After Utaq had made his sales and picked up the supplies he needed, they returned to the village to await not only the submarine, but also Porter, who was coming with a government agent via bush plane.The captain was also very satisfied that the intelligence Maria Machetanz had given him had led to a renewed investigation of circumstances surrounding the admiral’s disappearance.The so-called environmentalist from Idaho had actually been a phony; someone hired, apparently by the People’s Republic, to kill the admiral and cause even more turmoil over the pipeline.**

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**Still, though, even after a week of Lee telling of their adventures together on and off the _Seaview_, Nelson felt restless.There were still chunks of memory missing.He knew Lee was being truthful in everything he said and felt the rightness of his words, but it simply wasn’t his memories yet.**

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**Finally on a bright, relatively warm sunlit day, _Seaview _arrived, surfacing at a low angle, but still dramatically enough to cause the villagers to gape in awe.It was like some monstrous metal whale surfacing.The Eskimos pulled off their parkas in the fifty-degree heat and continued to gape as the sub settled on the ocean and men showed themselves on the conning tower and waved.**

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**Nelson stood entranced, but in a way different from the villagers.He was seeing the object of some of his memories/dreams clothed in steel and spray, beautiful, powerful and inviting.She came closer to shore and he knew she was working at recovering the Flying Sub that Lee had crash-landed.**

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**“Captain Crane said you built this.”** ****

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**“I designed her,” Harriman said and knew the rightness of his words.He saw the memories of the years before _Seaview_ starting to make a more cohesive pattern.It was not complete, but something becoming very recognizable.After a short time, more men appeared on her conning tower and deck and then a skiff was launched.**

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**“I am never going to hear the end of it,” Lee muttered.**

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**“What?” Nelson asked.**

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**“That I had to ditch the Flying Sub.”** ****

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**The admiral smiled and continued watching.The skiff came closer and closer.He felt Lee and Porter’s presence at his side, but said nothing.**

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**“I expect you’d like to go aboard, Admiral,” Crane said in a half question, half statement.** ****

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**“Yes.”The answer was simple but loaded with expectation and hope.**

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**“May I see this marvelous vessel as well?” Utaq inquired.** ****

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**Nelson turned to him and nodded.“Of course.Would I say no to the man who saved my life?”**

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**The young seaman steered the skiff right up on shore, leaped out and happily saluted.“Welcome back, Admiral,” he said exuberantly.**

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**Nelson recognized the young man, but couldn’t remember the name.**

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**“Kowalski,” Lee muttered softly.** ****

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**Harriman smiled, grateful for the prompt.“Thanks, Kowalski.It’s good to be back.”**

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**Porter and the government agent waited while Nelson, Crane and Utaq got in the skiff and were ferried to the giant submarine.Nelson watched his creation grow larger and larger in eager anticipation.When he stepped on board he felt more memories slide into place.He remembered the first time he stepped on board, when the Gray Lady was only a shell.Then he remembered each stage of her progress until the day of her commissioning.“Permission to come aboard,” he said formally to the executive officer.**

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**“Permission granted,” Morton said happily.**

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**Harriman remembered the day the sub first sank and how a piece of his heart remained with her until the _Seaview_ had been raised and refitted.**

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**As he and Lee took Utaq on what he remembered being called the dime tour he remembered every nook and cranny of her.At the end of the tour Harriman realized that there were still a few gaps in his remembrances, but all in all he felt the rightness of everything.**

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**The rest would come.Tonight, maybe, or tomorrow or next month, but it would come.He turned to Utaq.“I remember why Maria wanted me to come and I will turn my efforts to solving the problems so that everyone can feel at least some satisfaction,” he said in IñupiaQ.**

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**Utaq nodded, “That is all any person can ask of another.”** ****

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**“Thank you, Utaq.”** ****

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**“I thank you, Aklark.You truly have the soul of the bear within,” the Eskimo hunter declared.**

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**Nelson nodded as he gazed out of the observation windows in the bow.A bear back in his den—home.**

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End file.
